The ‘Two-State Solution’ to Kill Jews, Destroy Israel
Bassam Tawil
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After the 2007 Hamas takeover, the Gaza Strip became an independent Palestinian state controlled by Hamas, with its own government, parliament, police force, and multiple armed groups. The Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip, in addition, had exclusive control over the border with Egypt, which was also abandoned by Israel.
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In the absence of any Israeli military or civilian presence inside Gaza, Hamas had a chance to turn the coastal strip into a prosperous area, a “Singapore” or “Dubai” on the Mediterranean. Instead, the terror group chose to manufacture and smuggle weapons, including rockets and missiles, and invest tens of millions of dollars in building a vast network of tunnels for stockpiling its weapons, facilitating the concealed movement of terrorists, and providing shelter for its leaders and members
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[T]he war is continuing because of Hamas’s refusal to release the remaining Israeli hostages, relinquish control over the Gaza Strip and lay down its weapons. Hamas, backed and armed by Iran, is determined to fight to the last Palestinian because its primary goal is to destroy Israel and replace it with an Islamist state.
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For more than a decade, these payments [to the Palestinian “pay-for-slay” program] have amounted to more than $300 million annually. Last year, the PA’s payments increased by $1.3 million per month. The murder of Jews is what the European Union and many European countries have been funding.
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By advocating a “two-state solution,” France, Canada and Britain are essentially authorizing a genocide.
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Before reviving their idea, the French, Canadians and British need to look at the results of all of the polls. They consistently show that most Palestinians support Hamas and the armed struggle against Israel. The last thing Palestinians and Israelis need now is to transplant the failed Gaza model onto the West Bank.
After the 2007 Hamas takeover, the Gaza Strip became an independent Palestinian state controlled by Hamas, with its own government, parliament, police force, and multiple armed groups. The Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip, in addition, had exclusive control over the border with Egypt, which was also abandoned by Israel. Pictured: Khaled Mashaal (2nd L), head of Hamas’ “political bureau” holds hands with Gaza’s Greek Orthodox Archbishop Alexios (L) and Hassan al-Jojo (2nd R), president of the Islamic Sharia Appeals Court, along with Hamas’ then leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh (R), at a government rally in the Gaza Strip on December 9, 2012. (Photo by Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images)
As the Hamas-Israel war in the Gaza Strip enters its 20th month, France, Britain and Canada have revived the talk about the need to establish a Palestinian state. In a joint statement in mid-May, the leaders of the three countries proclaimed:
“We are committed to recognizing a Palestinian state as a contribution to achieving a two-state solution and are prepared to work with others to this end.”
Next month, the United Nations is scheduled to host an international conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, to advance the idea of a “two-state solution” between Israel and the Palestinians.
According to the UN:
“As outlined in General Assembly resolution 79/81, the Conference will produce an action-oriented outcome document entitled ‘Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and implementation of the two-State solution.'”
“Indeed, only the implementation of a two-state solution will restore peace, prosperity and security for Israelis, Palestinians, and the entire region,” Anne-Claire Legendre, advisor to the French president for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement on May 23.
“The June [UN] Conference must mark a transformative milestone for the effective implementation of the two-state solution. Within the framework of this conference, we will work with everybody who wishes to be involved to craft a roadmap for peace and security for all, based on two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security within secure and recognized borders.”
Any talk about a “two-state solution” in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel is a sick joke. The “two-state solution” died on that day, when thousands of Hamas terrorists and “ordinary” Palestinians from the Gaza Strip invaded Israel, murdered 1,200 people and wounded thousands. Another 251 Israelis were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip, where 58 – dead and alive – are still held as hostages.
In many respects, before October 7, the Gaza Strip was an independent and sovereign Palestinian state controlled by the Iran-backed terrorist group, Hamas.
In 2005, Israel withdrew from the entire Gaza Strip and handed it over, unconditionally, to the Palestinian Authority (PA) headed by Mahmoud Abbas. Less than two years later, Hamas staged a violent coup, toppling the PA and seizing full control over Gaza and its two million Palestinian residents.
After the 2007 Hamas takeover, the Gaza Strip became an independent Palestinian state controlled by Hamas, with its own government, parliament, police force, and multiple armed groups. The Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip, in addition, had exclusive control over the border with Egypt, which was also abandoned by Israel.
In the absence of any Israeli military or civilian presence inside Gaza, Hamas had a chance to turn the coastal strip into a prosperous area, a “Singapore” or “Dubai” on the Mediterranean. Instead, the terror group chose to manufacture and smuggle weapons, including rockets and missiles, and invest tens of millions of dollars in building a vast network of tunnels for stockpiling its weapons, facilitating the concealed movement of terrorists, and providing shelter for its leaders and members.
On October 7, during a de facto ceasefire, Hamas terrorists and thousands of “ordinary” Palestinians breached the border with Israel with the purpose of slaughtering and abducting as many Jews as possible.
The Israeli towns and villages near the border with the Gaza Strip that were invaded by the Palestinians were not “illegal settlements.” Rather, they were in Israel proper, within its internationally recognized borders. The Israelis murdered and wounded on that day were not “illegal settlers.” Rather, they were Israeli citizens residing within Israel’s borders.
To many Palestinians, any Israeli is considered a “settler” and an appropriate target for murder, especially under the Palestinian Authority’s lucrative “pay-for-slay” jobs-program set up under Mahmoud Abbas. The more Jews you murder, the larger the payments. For more than a decade, these payments have amounted to more than $300 million annually. Last year, the PA’s payments increased by $1.3 million per month. The murder of Jews is what the European Union and many European countries have been funding (see, for instance, here and here).
Ironically and tragically, many of the Israelis who were butchered and kidnapped on October 7 were peace activists. They believed in the “two-state solution.” Some had even volunteered driving sick Palestinians from the Gaza Strip for medical treatment in Israeli hospitals.
Yocheved Lifschitz, an 85-year-old Israeli peace activist who was kidnapped and later freed by Hamas, confronted Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a visit to hostages in a tunnel. She asked him: “Aren’t you ashamed of having done this to people who have always worked for peace with the Palestinians?”
Vivian Silver, a Canadian-Israeli peace activist, was murdered in the Hamas-led attack on October 7. For many years, she worked within her kibbutz, Be’eri, to organize programs to help Gazans, such as job training, and ensuring that Gazan construction workers at the kibbutz were paid fairly. Silver was also the co-founder of Women Wage Peace, a grassroots interfaith organization. She also volunteered with Road to Recovery and Project Roxana to transport Gazan patients to Israeli hospitals.
The Palestinians who invaded Israel on October 7 did not distinguish between one Israeli and another. They did not care whether the Israelis they murdered supported a “two-state solution” or not. They did not even distinguish between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs. Notably, 20 Israeli Arabs were murdered during the attacks or by Hamas rocket launches in the ensuing days. There were also 71 foreign victims on October 7, mostly Thai workers.
The October 7 invasion should be seen as a declaration of war on Israel by the Hamas-controlled Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip. Hamas planned and initiated this war since before 2020. It has brought death and destruction not only on Israelis, but also on the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip.
Twenty months later, the war is continuing because of Hamas’s refusal to release the remaining Israeli hostages, relinquish control over the Gaza Strip and lay down its weapons. Hamas, backed and armed by Iran, is determined to fight to the last Palestinian because its primary goal is to destroy Israel and replace it with an Islamist state.
Under the current circumstances, those who talk about a “two-state solution” to achieve peace and prosperity between Israelis and Palestinians are actually seeking to reward Hamas for perpetrating the worst crime against Jews since the Holocaust.
By pushing for a “two-state solution,” France, Canada and Britain are sending a message to Hamas and other Palestinians that October 7 was worthwhile because it will bring them an independent and sovereign state.
By advocating a “two-state solution,” France, Canada and Britain are essentially authorizing a genocide.
There is another problem: Can these countries or the UN guarantee that a Palestinian state in the West Bank would not be used in the future as a launching pad to attack Israel? Of course not.
Whether Hamas will officially admit it or not, that is the main reason it, and its backers in Iran and Qatar, want a “state.” Do you think they want it to grow avocadoes?
There is no doubt that a Palestinian state would be controlled by Hamas or other extremist Palestinians who do not believe in Israel’s right to exist. A poll published earlier this month showed that if presidential elections in the Palestinian Authority were held today, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal would win 68% of the votes, compared to 25% for the incumbent Mahmoud Abbas. When asked which political party or movement they supported, the largest percentage (32%) said they preferred Hamas, followed by Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction (21%). Twelve percent selected third parties, and 34% said they do not support any of them or do not know.
If new PA parliamentary elections were held today, the poll showed, Hamas would win 43% of the votes as opposed to 28% for Fatah. The poll also found that 40% of the Palestinians believe that Hamas is the most deserving of representing and leading the Palestinian people, while only 19% believe that Fatah is the most deserving.
The so-called two-state solution, sadly, is only a recipe for more violence, terrorism and bloodshed — not security, stability and peace.
Before reviving their idea, the French, Canadians and British need to look at the results of all of the polls. They consistently show that most Palestinians support Hamas and the armed struggle against Israel. The last thing Palestinians and Israelis need now is to transplant the failed Gaza model onto the West Bank.
Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East. His work is made possible through the generous donation of a couple of donors who wished to remain anonymous. Gatestone is most grateful.
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