Binational solution

Binational solution is a term most often used in reference to a proposed resolution of the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is also known as the One-State Solution, as opposed to the Two-State Solution.

Binationalism after 1973

The outcome of the 1973 Yom Kippur War prompted a fundamental political rethink among the Palestinian leadership. It was realised that Israel's military strength and, crucially, its alliance with the United States made it very unlikely that it could be defeated militarily. In December 1974, Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) -- regarded as a terrorist group by the Israeli government - declared that a binational state was the only viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The change in policy was met with considerable confusion, as it was official PLO policy to replace Israel with a secular state with a full right of return for all displaced Palestinians. This would effectively have ended Israel's Jewish majority and, by secularising the state, would have weaken its exclusive Jewish character. In short, a binational state on the PLO's terms would mean a different kind of Israel - a prospect strongly opposed by various sides in Israeli politics.

Related Topics:
Yom Kippur War - 1974 - Yasser Arafat - Palestine Liberation Organization

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Despite this, opposition to binationalism was not absolute. Some of those on the Israel right who were associated with the settler movement were willing to contemplate a binational state as long as it was established on Zionist terms. Members of Menachem Begin's Likud government in the late 1970s were willing to support the idea if it would ensure formal Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank and Gaza. Begin's chief of staff, Eliahu Ben-Elissar, told the Washington Post in November 1979 that "we can live with them and they can live with us. I would prefer they were Israeli citizens, but I am not afraid of a binational state. In any case, it will always be a Jewish state with a large Arab minority."

Related Topics:
Menachem Begin - Likud - Washington Post - Jewish state

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