The two-state solution, a critical outlook

TEHRAN, Nov. 9 (MNA) -- Palestine is the Holy Land in the religions of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Muslims, Jews and Christians lived in the region in peace and prosperity before the Crusades. In the 19th century, the forces of international capitalism and Zionism began their efforts to occupy the land because of its great strategic, economic, and cultural importance. Finally, in 1948, backed by the United States and Britain, the Zionists occupied the land during a bloody war. The illegitimate entity of Israel was then recognized by all Western powers, in violation of all international laws and treaties. On the other side, all Islamic governments were seriously opposed to the establishment of the entity, and it marked the beginning of a long period of war, violence, and instability in the Middle East and even other regions of the world. The Zionist regime continued its aggression and targeted other parts of Palestine during the wars of 1956 and 1967, in which more Palestinian territories were occupied by Israeli forces. Lebanon was also attacked by Israel, and an area in the south of the country was occupied for many years. After the Six-Day War of 1967, the United Nations condemned the Israeli occupation and called on the Zionist regime to withdraw from the territories and return to the pre-1967 borders. After the fall of the shah of Iran, who was the main regional ally of Israel, and the beginning of the first wave of the Islamic Awakening movement, which was inspired by Iran’s Islamic Revolution, Western governments proposed a new plan, which is known as the two-state solution. But the plan has not really addressed the issue, and there are a number of reasons for the failure of the plan over the past few decades. After the death of Gamal Abdel Nasser, the Pan-Arab Movement was weakened, and the Arab leaders began dealing with the issue of Palestine in a more opportunistic way. The new Egyptian president and the Israeli prime minister signed the Camp David Accords in 1978, facilitated by US officials, and the era of compromise officially began and lasted for about 20 years. Then southern Lebanon was occupied, which seriously disappointed the Palestinian liberation forces. Most Islamic countries did not provide any support to the Palestinians. Iran was involved in a long war with Iraq and could not help the Palestinians very much. The general process of compromise with Israel and the Western powers continued to expand, and the Israelis got strong enough to stabilize their occupation of Palestine. However, the emergence of Lebanon’s Hezbollah as an influential political and military force and the victory of Hamas in Palestine’s democratic election in 2006 created a new opportunity for the oppressed Palestinians. The victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the courageous stances adopted by the late Imam Khomeini, the Founder of the Islamic Republic, once again reminded Western governments about the huge importance of the Palestinian issue for Muslims. In fact, the issue of Palestine has caused great tension between the West and Islamic countries. The proposal to trade land in return for recognition of Israel by Muslim governments is actually meant to give the impression that the two-state solution is the only remaining option. But experience has shown that the Zionist regime will never take a step back from the Nile to the Euphrates project. The notion of compromise has been repeatedly rejected by the Israelis. By their actions, the Israelis have shown that they never intend to return to the pre-1967 borders. The occasional promises to retreat to the pre-1967 borders are actually just tricks meant to curry favor with Arab governments. Clearly, the two-state solution will never be realized because the Israelis are totally opposed to it. The Palestine issue can only be resolved through the establishment of a national unity government in the entire territory that belonged to the Palestinians before 1948. Such a government would be in a position to make a decision about the Jews occupying the land since 1948. If this plan were to be implemented, all the Jews, Muslims, and Christians would be able to lead normal lives in the Holy Land.