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Burning questions bound to arise

Feb 29,2016 - Last updated at Feb 29,2016

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dislike of the idea of a two-state solution to the long-standing Palestinian-Israeli conflict could not be more obvious.

His record indicates beyond doubt that he has been doing everything possible to undermine the scenario of the two-state solution.

Interestingly, his anti-peace actions have not yet hurt him politically. In other words, his twin objective of political survival and avoiding the two-state outcome seem compatible. 

Of course, there are those who criticise him for many of his policies. But the fact remains that he has been loyal to his convictions.

According to Aluf Benn from Haaretz, Netanyahu has been an excellent manager who knows well how to reconcile three objectives: “Keeping his government in power and perpetuating the occupation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem while minimising domestic and international opposition.”

Benn argues that all his policies are a function of the interplay of these three objectives. 

Over the last few years, the international community failed to put any pressure on the Israeli government to act differently. 

Moreover, Netanyahu took advantage of the new regional developments and Obama administration’s hesitance to create new facts on the ground.

These new facts will only preclude any prospect of a viable two-state solution.

Arabs are fixated on other regional crises, the Syrian war and the subversive actions of Iran in particular. 

Netanyahu has been exploiting the Arabs’ and the international community’s distraction from the Arab-Israeli conflict and focus on the Syrian crisis.

Netanyahu’s main concern is political survival. He learnt the hard way, from his first tenure as prime minister, that his survival hinges on the strength of the ruling coalition.

Amid the disintegration of the Palestinian politics, the continuation of the Palestinian disunity and the lack of international pressure, Netanyahu feels that responding positively to some of the Palestinian demands may risk the stability of his ruling coalition.

Therefore, he put the two-state solution on the back burner. 

The wider game for Netanyahu is obviously nothing but political survival. Unless there is some external pressure that could change the priorities of the Israeli voters, Netanyahu will neither budge nor lose his political relevance.

Many observers wonder if Netanyahu and like-minded Israeli politicians ever thought about scenarios other than a two-state solution and how they will affect the ideals of Zionism.

The failure of the two-state solution will by no means lead to the resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Indeed, the alternative to the two-state solution is one-state solution.

It is not yet clear how Netanyahu and his allies in Israel are going to address this burning issue.

If the Palestinians are left with no state of their own, they will be living in one state that stretches from the Mediterranean to the River Jordan. The problem in this case is that the Palestinians will enjoy a clear demographic advantage.

Will Israel survive as an apartheid state?

Will it become a bi-national state?

These two questions are being avoided for the time being by the Israeli right and Netanyahu. But soon they will come to the fore.

 

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