Palestinian territoriesLettersWhy a ‘three-state solution’ will never work in the Middle East
A proposal for an alternative to a two-state solution is rejected by Fran Russell and Prof Saville Kushner
Dr Martin Smith’s suggestion (Letters, 9 November) to put Gaza under Egyptian control and the West Bank under Jordanian control is not a three-state solution but a no-state solution for the Palestinians, and would never be accepted by them.
I wonder if he has ever been to Gaza or the West Bank to connect with the experience, views and emotions of the people living there. I worked in Gaza as a human rights lawyer in the mid-90s (previously having lived on a kibbutz) and it was clear at the time that the Oslo peace accords would fail, partly because those pressing the then Palestinian leadership to sign the inadequate deal did not take sufficient account of the reality and history of the Palestinian people.
At the heart of this situation remains the huge and festering injustice done in 1948, when Palestinian lands were taken to form the state of Israel. The reality is that there will be no peace without finding a way to provide a workable Palestinian state. If not found – and maybe it is already too late – this conflict will continue to escalate until, one day, it might engulf us all.
Fran Russell
London
Martin Smith offers a “viable” three-state solution to the Palestinian question. This merely sanctions and avoids the issues of Israeli exceptionalism and Palestinians returning to their original homes.
A two-state solution is now hopeless, since Israel would regard any Palestinian state as a rocket site. The only “viable” solution is for Israel to finally mature into a proper democracy and create a single multicultural, Middle Eastern country. This would neutralise regional resentments and – given the sophistication of the Palestinian people, a high percentage of whom are graduates – create a culturally and economically rich country. Unlikely, perhaps, but “viable” for sure.
Prof Saville Kushner
Liverpool
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