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 in Israel, 1948-1973

With the establishment of Israel in May 1948, a binational solution became largely moot when much of Israel's native Arab population was displaced in the ensuing conflict. Some aspects of the binational ideal - such as equal political rights for the remaining Arabs - were granted in principle, but this was limited by the Israeli leadership's determination that the country would have a Jewish majority and political leadership. Successive Israeli governments have pursued a policy of encouraging Jewish immigration to Israel, known as aliyah (literally "ascent" in Hebrew), which served to preserve the Jewish majority in the country.

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On the Arab side, the idea of a binational solution was generally rejected by the Arab national movement, which saw little to gain from it; the Arab leadership were opposed to their people becoming a minority in what they saw as their own country. From their point of view, the huge influx of Jews from Europe and the Middle East represented a gigantic colonisation project, which many saw as being a recreation of the medieval Crusader kingdoms. The Crusades were (and still are) an event seared on Arab collective memory, as was their outcome - the defeat of the Crusaders by Saladin and the subsequent expulsion of the European settlers. A binational solution was not, in other words, something that had any precedent in the Arab history of Palestine.

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The binational ideal did not disappear altogether during this period, despite its lack of support, and was given a boost following Israel's capture of Gaza and the West Bank in the Six Day War of 1967. Israel's pre-emptive strike against its neighbours was greeted by euphoria within Israel, but some of the more farsighted Israeli and foreign observers quickly recognised that the new conquests posed a major long-term problem.

Related Topics:
Six Day War - 1967

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In the aftermath of the war, there was considerable debate about what to do next. Should the territories be annexed to Israel? In which case, what would be done with the Palestinians? Should they be given citizenship, although that would significantly dilute Israel's Jewish majority? Could they be expelled en masse, although that would come at a terrible cost to Israel's reputation? Should the territories be returned to Arab rule? In which case, how would Israel's security be guaranteed? In the event, the Israel government fudged the question by implementing the controversial policy of Jewish settlements in the territories, establishing "facts on the ground" while keeping open the question of the Palestinians' long-term fate.

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The dilemma prompted some foreign supporters of Israel, such as the crusading American journalist I.F. Stone, to revive the idea of a binational state. This found little favour in Israel or elsewhere and the binational solution tended to be presented not so much as a potential resolution of the conflict as a disastrous outcome risked by Israeli government policies. As early as 1973, the prospect of a binational state was being used by prominent figures on the Israel left to warn against holding on to the territories. Histadrut Secretary General I. Ben-Aharon, for instance, warned in a March 1973 article for The Jerusalem Post that Israel could have any real control over a binational state and that Israelis should be satisfied with a state already containing a sizable Arab minority -- that is, Israel proper.

Related Topics:
I.F. Stone - 1973

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