Isratin
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Isratin or Isratine
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Isratin proposal
The Gaddafi Isratin proposal intended to permanently resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict through a secular, federalist, republican one-state solution, which was first articulated by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, at the Chatham House in London and later adopted by Muammar Gaddafi himself.
Its main points are:
- Creation of a Palestinianstate called the "Federal Republic of the Holy Land";
- Partition of the state into five administrative regions, with Jerusalem as a city-state;
- Return of all Palestinian refugees;
- Supervision by the United Nations of free and fair elections on the first and second occasions;
- Removal of weapons of mass destructionfrom the state;
- Recognition of the state by the Arab League.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's proposal was eventually incorporated in Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's book
Muammar Gaddafi again championed the "Isratin proposal" in an
Popular support
The belief of both proponents and detractors of the Isratin scenario is that a single state in Israel, the
In a positive sense, while some advocate Isratin as a one-state solution for ideological reasons, others feel that due to the reality on the ground, it is the only practicable solution.[7][8]
A bi-national solution enjoys the support of about a quarter of the Palestinian electorate, according to polls conducted by the
Among Palestinians, opponents of the idea include
Israeli opponents argue that one state would erode the notion of Israel as a Jewish state. The main obstacle is the fact that demographic trends show the likelihood of a near-term majority Arab population west of the Jordan River (including the land within the internationally recognized borders of the state of Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza). The probability that Palestinians would constitute an electoral majority in a bi-national state is seen by many Israeli Jews as a threat to the very premise of Israel, explicitly created as a Jewish state in the aftermath of the Holocaust. A 2000 poll soon after the outbreak of the second intifada found 18% of Israeli Jews supported a binational solution.[12]
Modern background
Israel's capture of the West Bank from Jordan and the Gaza Strip from Egypt in the Six-Day War of 1967 recommenced the pre-1948 discourse concerning the one-state scenario, while at the same time giving the two-state solution arguably the only window of opportunity to become a reality.
Israel's victory over its neighbours was greeted by euphoria within Israel, but some critical Israeli and foreign observers quickly recognised the new territories could pose a major long-term problem, and a considerable debate followed about what to do next. One option was the one-state solution: to annex the newly acquired territories (extend Israeli law and sovereignty to the new territories) and give the Palestinians living in these territories Israeli citizenship, similar to the
However, the vast majority of Israelis, left and right, including political parties supporting the West Bank settlement movement, feared that such a solution would significantly dilute Israel's Jewish majority. In the early 1980s, the pro-settlements
The abject defeat of Arab armies in 1967 led to an initial rejectionist attitude in some Arab circles, most notably the Khartoum Resolution a few months after the war, which stated there would be “no peace, recognition of, or negotiations” with Israel. However, this position eased over time, ultimately leading to an almost dogmatic Palestinian acceptance of the notion of a two-state solution which persisted until the rise of Hamas in the 2000s. 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 unlikely that it could be defeated militarily. In December 1974, Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), then regarded as a terrorist group by the Israeli government, declared that a bi-national 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 and democratic state with a full right of return for all displaced Palestinians, including the Jews who were living in Palestine before 1948. This would effectively have ended Israel's Jewish majority and, by secularising the state, would have weakened its exclusive Jewish character. In short, a bi-national state on the PLO's terms would mean a very different kind of Israel or no Israel at all. This prospect was always strongly opposed by all sides in Israeli politics.
But while the Arab side was re-adjusting its position, the two-state solution was dealt a heavy blow as Israel (in the 1980s) and subsequently the powerful, semi-autonomous settlement movement (in the 1990s and thereafter), implemented 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.
As early as 1973, the prospect of a bi-national state was being used by prominent figures on the Israel left to warn against holding on to the territories. For example,
The two-state solution has become a virtual dogma in Israeli–Palestinian official discussions: it was the basis of the Madrid Conference (1991), the Oslo Accords (1993), the Interim agreement (1995), the Hebron Protocol (1997), the Wye River Memorandum (1998), and so-called "Road Map" (2002). However, these agreements are rejected by various factions on the Palestinian side, most notably Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The Oslo Accords were never fully adopted and implemented by both sides. After the Second Intifada in 2000, many believe that the two-state solution is increasingly losing its feasibility.
On the Israeli side,
Despite this, opposition to bi-nationalism was not absolute. Some of those on the Israel right associated with the settler movement were willing to contemplate a bi-national state as long as it was established on Zionist terms. Originally, members of
The construction of the
Among Palestinians, Israel's opposition to a bi-national state led to another change of position which evolved gradually from the late 1970s onwards. The PLO retained its original option of a single secular bi-national state west of Jordan, but began to take the position that it was prepared to accept a separate Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza in land from which Israel had withdrawn under
Various Israelis and Palestinians who oppose a one-state solution have come to believe that it may come to pass. Israeli Prime Minister Olmert argued, in a 2007 interview with the Israeli daily Haaretz, that without a two-state agreement Israel would face "a South African-style struggle for equal voting rights" in which case "Israel [would be] finished".[13] This echoes comments made in 2004 by Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, who said that if Israel failed to conclude an agreement with the Palestinians, that the Palestinians would pursue a single, bi-national state.[14] Several other high-level Fatah Palestinian Authority officials have voiced similar opinions, including Hani Al-Masri. In 2004, Yasser Arafat said “time is running out for a two-state solution” in an interview with Britain's The Guardian newspaper. Many political analysts, including Omar Barghouti, believe that the death of Arafat harbingers the bankruptcy of the Oslo Accords and the two-state solution.
The prominent proponents for the one-state solution include
Demographics
Criticisms
The Isratin scenario is generally criticized by a majority of both Israelis and Palestinians.[citation needed]
Critics on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute argue that such an entity would destroy the rights of both societies to self-determination.[citation needed]
Israeli Jews generally assume that a one-state scenario would negate Israel's status as a homeland for the Jewish people. When proposed as a political solution by non-Israelis (as distinct from gradually sliding into an Isratin situation by virtue of continuous Jewish West Bank settlement) the natural assumption is that the idea is most probably being put forward by those who are politically motivated to harm Israel.[22]
Most Israelis, including Israeli Jews, Israeli Druze, the majority of Israeli Bedouin, many Israeli Christian Arabs and some Israeli Muslim Arabs, fear the consequences of amalgamation with a population that may carry a different culture, level of secularism and level of democracy. (Israeli Druze and Bedouin serve in the IDF and there are sometimes rifts between these groups and Palestinians.[23]) Critics state that the existing level of rights and equality for all Israeli citizens would be put in jeopardy.[24] Furthermore, residents of the large Israeli Arab population centers in Wadi Ara and the Triangle, contiguous with the West Bank, have expressed fierce opposition to their areas being annexed to the Palestinian state within a land swap in the final status agreement and assumedly would respond similarly to an Isratin proposition under which they would by default be deemed to be more Palestinian than Israeli.
Students of the Middle East, including erstwhile critic of Israel Benny Morris, have argued that the one-state solution is not viable because of Arab unwillingness to accept a Jewish national presence in the Middle East.[25]
In a 2007 poll of 580 Israelis, 70% of Israeli Jews stated that they support the two-state solution.[26] A 2005 poll of 1,319 Palestinians indicated that a small majority of those in the West Bank and Gaza Strip support the two-state solution based on the 1967 borders.[27]
See also
References
- ^ "Isratine". Muammar Gathafi official website. 2004. Archived from the original on 2004-04-01.
- ^ "إسراطين الكتاب الأبيض". Neel wa Furat. Archived from the original on 1 May 2020. Retrieved 16 Nov 2021.
- ^ a b Al Gathafi, Muammar (2003). "White Book (ISRATIN)". Archived from the original on April 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ a b Qadaffi, Muammar (2009-01-21). "The One-State Solution". The New York Times. p. A33. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
- ^ "Gadhafi says US should seek peace with bin Laden". International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. 2009-01-21. Archived from the original on January 25, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
- ^ "Kadhafi calls for one-state solution for Palestine problem". Al Bawaba.[dead link]
- ^ "One State Threat - Reut Institute". www.reut-institute.org. Archived from the original on 2017-06-30. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
- ^ Logic of Implosion Archived 2014-02-02 at the Wayback Machine at the Reut Institute.
- ^ Poll No. 63 by JMCC Archived October 4, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Near East Consulting November 2007
- ^ Near East Consulting February 2007
- ^ Public Opinion Polls by JMCC Archived October 4, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Olmert to Haaretz: Two-state solution, or Israel is done for", Haaretz, Nov. 29, 2007.
- ^ "Palestinian PM's 'one state' call". BBC News. January 9, 2004. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- ^ ""One Country": A new book from EI cofounder Ali Abunimah". The Electronic Intifada. Archived from the original on October 3, 2009. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
- ^ Michael Tarazi. "Two Peoples, One State". Global Policy Forum. Archived from the original on October 20, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
- ^ Peter Hirschberg. "One state awakening". Archived from the original on March 7, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
- ^ Makdisi, Saree (May 11, 2008). "Forget the two-state solution". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- ^ "Arab News". Arab News. Archived from the original on January 6, 2016.
- ^ "Demography of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict". 13 October 2022.
- ^ "The demographic challenges to peace for Israel and Palestine". 20 October 2022.
- ^ "Q&A; with Alan Dershowitz". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on May 27, 2009. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
- ^ Grant, Linda (March 17, 2004). "Tales of Tel Aviv". The Guardian. London. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- Ynetnews.
- ^ Jeffrey Goldberg, "No Common Ground," New York Times, May 20, 2009
- ^ "Poll: 70% of Israelis back 2-state pact, 63% oppose Golan pull-out". Haaretz. July 3, 2007. Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
- ^ "Poll: Majority of Palestinians now support two-state solution". Middle East Transparent. Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-8050-8666-9
- "Palestine – Divided or United? The Case for a Bi-National Palestine before the United Nations" by ISBN 0-8371-2617-7)
- Alan Dershowitz. The Case for Peace: How the Arab-Israeli Conflict Can Be Resolved. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005.
- Hattis, Susan Lee. The Binational Idea in Palestine during Mandatory Times. Haifa: Shikmona, 1970.
- "Begin Loyalist Given Inside Track for Dayan's Job", Washington Post, November 14, 1979
- "Hebrew University, 1980
- "Fifteen Years' Successful Conquest Has Wounded Israel's Soul", Washington Post, June 6, 1982
- "Demography in the Land of Israel in the Year 2000", Sofer A., the University of Haifa, 1987
- Paul R. Mendes-Flohr A Land of Two Peoples: Martin Buber on Jews and Arabs. Gloucester, Mass: Peter Smith, 1994.
- Ruth Gavison, "Jewish and Democratic? A Rejoinder to the 'Ethnic Democracy' Debate," Israel Studies, March 31, 1999
- Binationalism: A Bridge over the Chasm. Palestine–Israel Journal, July 31, 1999.
- Tilley, Virginia. The One-State Solution: A Breakthrough for Peace in the Israeli-Palestinian Deadlock, University of Michigan Press, May 2005
- Said, E. The End of the Peace Process: Oslo and After, Granta Books, London: 2000
- Pressman, Jeremy, "The Best Hope – Still?" Boston Review, July/August 2009.
External links
- Settlers and Palestinians who prefer a bi-national state, Ha'aretz. (in Hebrew)
- Proposal for an Alternative Configuration in Palestine-Israel by Alternative Palestinian Agenda.
- Israel: The Alternative by Tony Judt.
- The One-State Solution by Virginia Tilley.
- The One-State Solution by Daniel Lazare.
- What’s Wrong with the One-State Agenda? by Hussein Ibish.
- One-state solution a pipedream by Ray Hanania.
- Why advocating a one-state solution does not help the Palestinians by Dan Fleshler.