President Barack Obama’s “historic” visit to Israel last week has been celebrated as a groundbreaking step in the right direction for a two-state solution comprised of a sovereign Palestine and a secure Israeli state. Yet many fail to realize that this position is no different from the reiterated U.S. policy on the conflict since 1967).
Although this rhetoric may be old, it is not harmless. The main takeaway from Obama’s speech to Israelis: We’re friends, and although we may not like what you do, we will support you no matter what.
The stalemate of this conflict is fueled by mixed messages. Obama’s call to end the occupation is contrasted by the billions of dollars in U.S. military aid to Israel. His criticism of settlement expansion is met with U.S. vetoes of U.N. Security Council Resolutions condemning them. Statements about shared U.S.-Israeli democratic values ignore the ongoing human rights abuses experienced by Palestinians.
Furthermore, despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s supposed commitment to the two-state solution, the new Israeli government coalition is the most radically right-wing in the nation’s history.
With pro-settlement Jewish Home member Uri Ariel appointed as the new minister of housing and construction, it’s only a matter of time until we see the vast expansion of illegal settlements. Party leader Naftali Bennett explicitly called for the annexation of more than 60 percent of the West Bank to Israel, eliminating the viability of a two-state solution.
The reality is that the two main proponents of the two-state solution continue to openly undertake policies jeopardizing any possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state. Evaluating the facts on the ground reveals that the two-state solution has become an illusion hindering a just solution for the marginalized Palestinians.
The debate is no longer whether we are approaching the one-state solution, but what type of state it will be.
We created UNC Students for Justice in Palestine because we believe that the Palestinian narrative is generally misunderstood. We promote awareness of the Palestinian struggle for liberation and self-determination.
While SJP does not take a political stance on what a final solution would look like, we do seriously consider the one-state solution, where Israelis and Palestinians can peacefully live together in one democratic state.
