Two-state solution

The two-state solution is the name for a class of proposed resolutions of the long-running Arab-Israeli conflict . There are many different proposals under this rubric, which differ substantially in their details, although all share a basic concept (reflected in the name). It is contrasted with the binational solution and forced transfer solutions (of either side). Proponents of a two-state solution to the conflict generally advocate two separate states in the Western portion of the historic region of Palestine , one each intended primarily for the Jewish and Arab populations. Territories that Israel captured in the West Bank and Gaza during the Six-Day War would become a new Palestinian state. Their Palestinian Arab inhabitants would be given citizenship by the new state; Arabs in the world-wide Palestinian exodus would likely be offered such citizenship as well. Arab citizens of present-day Israel would likely have the choice of staying with Israel, or becoming citizens of the new Palestine. The proposal is immensely controversial, although most outside observers consider some form of it the most reasonable likely solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

A peace movement poster: Israeli and Palestinian flags and the words peace in Arabic and Hebrew . Similar images have been used by several groups proposing a two-state solution to the conflict. The two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the consensus solution that is currently under discussion by the key parties to the conflict, most recently at the Annapolis Conference in November 2007. A two-state solution envisions two separate states in the Western portion of the historic region of Palestine : With Israel remaining a Jewish state, and the establishment of another Arab state to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict . According to the idea, the Arab inhabitants would be given citizenship by the new Palestinian state ; Palestinian refugees would likely be offered such citizenship as well. Arab citizens of present-day Israel would likely have the choice of staying with Israel, or becoming citizens of the new Palestine. It is contrasted with other options, most notably the binational solution , which could either be a twin regime federalist arrangement or a unitary state, and the Allon Plan , also known as the 'no-state solution'. The New York Review of Books reported in a 2008 review of the middle east situation that "throughout the years, polls consistently showed respectable Israeli and Palestinian majorities in favor of a negotiated two-state settlement." A 2007 poll reported that, when forced to choose between a two-state solution and a bi-national state, over one quarter of the Palestinian respondents in the West Bank and Gaza Strip preferred neither, 46% of respondents preferred the two-state over the bi-national solution, and 26% preferred the binational over the two-state. The solution enjoys majority support in Israeli polls as well although there has been some erosion to its prospects over time.

A peace movement poster: Israeli and Palestinian flags and the words peace in Arabic and Hebrew . Similar images have been used by several groups supporting a two-state solution to the conflict. Agreeing on acceptable borders is a major difficulty with the two-state solution. The two-state solution refers to a solution of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict currently under discussion, which calls for "two states for two groups of people." The two-state solution envisages an independent State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel , west of the Jordan River . The boundaries between the two states is still subject to dispute and negotiation, with Palestinian and Arab leadership insisting on the "1967 borders", which is not accepted by Israel. The territory of the former Mandate Palestine which shall not form part of the Palestinian State, shall be part of Israeli territory. The framework of the solution is set out in UN resolutions on the "Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine", going back to 1974. The resolution calls for "two States, Israel and Palestine … side by side within secure and recognized borders" together with "a just resolution of the refugee question in conformity with UN resolution 194 ". The borders of the state of Palestine are "based on the pre-1967 borders". The latest resolution in November 2013 was passed 165 to 6, with 6 abstentions. The countries voting against were Canada, Israel, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau and the United States. The Palestinians have "shown serious interest" in a two-state solution since the mid-1970s, and its mainstream leadership has embraced the concept since the 1982 Arab Summit in Fez . Over the years, polls have consistently shown "respectable Israeli and Palestinian majorities in favor of a negotiated two-state settlement." There have been many diplomatic efforts to realize a two state solution, starting from the 1991 Madrid Conference . There followed the 1993 Oslo Accords and the failed 2000 Camp David Summit followed by the Taba negotiations in early 2001. In 2002, the Arab League proposed the Arab Peace Initiative . A History of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict . 1994, page 718 How Not to Make Peace in the Middle East , Hussein Agha and Robert Malley, The New York Review of Books .

A peace movement poster: Israeli and Palestinian flags and the words peace in Arabic and Hebrew . Similar images have been used by several groups supporting a two-state solution to the conflict. Agreeing on acceptable borders is a major difficulty with the two-state solution. The two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict envisages an independent State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel , west of the Jordan River . The boundary between the two states is still subject to dispute and negotiation, with Palestinian and Arab leadership insisting on the "1967 borders", which is not accepted by Israel. The territory of the former Mandate Palestine (including Jerusalem ) which did not form part of the Palestinian State would continue to be part of Israel. In 1974, a UN resolution on the "Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine" called for "two States, Israel and Palestine … side by side within secure and recognized borders" together with "a just resolution of the refugee question in conformity with UN resolution 194 ". The borders of the state of Palestine would be "based on the pre-1967 borders". The latest resolution, in November 2013, was passed 165 to 6, with 6 abstentions; with Israel and the United States voting against. The Palestinian leadership has embraced the concept since the 1982 Arab Summit in Fez . Israel views moves by Palestinian leaders to obtain international recognition of a State of Palestine as being unilateral action by the Palestinians and inconsistent with a negotiated two-state solution. Polls have consistently shown Israeli and Palestinian majorities in favor of a negotiated two-state settlement. There have been many diplomatic efforts to realize a two state solution, starting from the 1991 Madrid Conference . There followed the 1993 Oslo Accords and the failed 2000 Camp David Summit followed by the Taba negotiations in early 2001. In 2002, the Arab League proposed the Arab Peace Initiative . The latest initiative, which also failed, was the 2013–14 peace talks . The United Nations – Question of Palestine . Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine, United Nations General Assembly" . "Wrapping up annual consideration of Question of Palestine, situation in Middle East, adopts six resoloutions by recorded vote" .

Proposed diplomatic solution for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict For other uses, see Two-state solution (disambiguation) . A peace movement poster: Israeli and Palestinian flags and the Arabic and Hebrew words for peace . Similar images have been used by several groups supporting a two-state solution to the conflict. Agreeing on acceptable borders is a major difficulty with the two-state solution. Area C of the West Bank, controlled by Israel, in blue and red, December 2011 Primary concerns Final borders Israeli settlements Palestinian enclaves Jewish state Palestinian political violence Palestinian refugees Security concerns Status of Jerusalem Zionist political violence Secondary concerns Israeli West Bank barrier Places of worship Fatah–Hamas conflict Water Electricity International brokers The "Quartet" ( United Nations United States European Union Russia ) Arab League Egypt Jordan United Kingdom France Proposals One-state solution : Isratin Elon Peace Plan Two-state solution : Fahd Plan Allon Plan Arab Peace Initiative Geneva Initiative Lieberman Plan Israeli Peace Initiative Palestinian Prisoners' Document Trump Peace Plan Three-state solution Israeli unilateral plans: Hafrada Disengagement Realignment Others Palestinian Emirates Plan Projects / groups / NGOs Peace-orientated projects Israeli–Palestinian economic peace efforts Valley of Peace Middle East economic integration Alliance for Middle East Peace Peres Center for Peace v t e The two-state solution is a proposed approach to resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict , by creating two states on the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine . It is often contrasted with the one-state solution , which is the establishment a single state in former Mandatory Palestine with equal rights for all its inhabitants. The two-state solution is supported by many countries and the Palestinian Authority . Israel currently does not support the idea, though it has in the past. The first proposal for separate Jewish and Arab states in the territory was made by the British Peel Commission report in 1937. In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a partition plan for Palestine , leading to the 1948 Palestine war . As a result, Israel was established on the area the UN had proposed for the Jewish state, as well as almost 60% of the area proposed for the Arab state. Israel took control of West Jerusalem , which was meant to be part of an international zone. Jordan took control of East Jerusalem and what became known as the West Bank , annexing it the following year . The territory which became the Gaza Strip was occupied by Egypt but never annexed. Since the 1967 Six-Day War , both the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza Strip have been militarily occupied by Israel, becoming known as the Palestinian territories . The Palestine Liberation Organization has accepted the concept of a two-state solution since the 1982 Arab Summit, on the basis of an independent Palestinian state based in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. In 2017, Hamas announced their revised charter , which claims to accept the idea of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, but without recognising the statehood of Israel. Diplomatic efforts have centred around realizing a two-state solution, starting from the failed 2000 Camp David Summit and the Clinton Parameters , followed by the Taba Summit in 2001. The failure of the Camp David summit to reach an agreed two-state solution formed the backdrop to the commencement of the Second Intifada , the violent consequences of which marked a turning point among both peoples’ attitudes. A two-state solution also formed the basis of the Arab Peace Initiative , the 2006–2008 peace offer , and the 2013–14 peace talks . Currently there is no two-state solution proposal being negotiated between Israel and Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority supports the idea of a two-state solution; Israel at times has also supported the idea, but currently rejects the creation of a Palestinian state. Long-serving Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated his objection to a Palestinian state on two separate occasions, in 2015 and 2023. Former Israeli prime ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert in late 2023 expressed support for a two-state solution. Public support among Israelis and Palestinians (measured separately) for "the concept of the two-state solution" have varied between above and below 50%, partially depending on how the question was phrased. The major points of contention include the specific boundaries of the two states (though most proposals are based on the 1967 lines ), the status of Jerusalem , the Israeli settlements and the right of return of Palestinian refugees . Observers have described the current situation in the whole territory, with the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and blockade of the Gaza Strip , as one of de facto Israeli sovereignty. The two-state solution is an alternative to the one-state solution and what observers consider a de facto one-state reality. Following the October 7 attacks and the subsequent Gaza war , multiple governments restarted discussions on a two-state solution. This received pushback from Israel's government, especially from prime minister Netanyahu. On 26 September 2024, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide co-chaired a meeting of representatives of about 90 countries, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, to launch a global alliance for a two-state solution. "Palestinian Authority ready to work with an Israeli government that backs two-state solution: PM Shtayyeh" . "Knesset overwhelmingly passes motion rejecting Palestinian statehood, days before PM's US trip" . The Times of Israel . A History of the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict . Inhabitants of the occupied territories and other Palestinians had shown serious interest in a two-state solution since the mid-1970s, and the mainstream of the PLO had since the 1982 Arab summit in Fez been officially committed to mutual recognition between Israel and a Palestinian state located in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Support for a two-state solution had also informed PLO diplomacy in the mid-1980s, when Yasir Arafat worked with King Hussein in an effort to persuade the United States to recognize the Palestinian people's right to self-determination in return for PLO acceptance of UN [Resolution] 242. The Case for Palestine: An International Law Perspective . The Second Intifada starkly demonstrated the failure of years of negotiations, and marked a turning point in both internal Israeli and Palestinian politics. "Why B'Tselem is calling Israel an apartheid regime, from the river to the sea" . +972 Magazine . "B'Tselem (Document): A Regime of Jewish Supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This Is Apartheid" . Institute for Palestine Studies . 12 January 2021 .