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Israeli Skepticism over a Palestinian State Is Based on Real and Urgent Concerns

(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) David Makovsky - The U.S. and several Arab states are in discussions to develop a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace plan with a "firm timeline" for the establishment of a Palestinian state, the Washington Post reported. Yet Israeli reservations about a Palestinian state go well beyond Netanyahu and are based on real and urgent concerns, security chief among them. This must be dealt with seriously by linking progress on Palestinian statehood to meeting clear security benchmarks, without which instability is certain. An American effort that does not take this into account risks misreading Israeli politics and the concerns of a majority of Israelis across the political spectrum. In January, 59% of Jewish Israelis rejected a two-state solution as part of a package of U.S. guarantees and normalization with Arab states. A month before Oct. 7, only 32% of Israeli Jews thought Israel and a Palestinian state could coexist peacefully. Many Israelis support the idea of a compromise for peace but are wary of abandoning the status quo without an agreement with a partner they trust - in their view, the only way to provide real security and actually end the conflict. For now, though, most Israelis associate two states with a profound security risk and prefer the status quo, despite its dangers. That concern is well-founded: for the past 30 years, Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian arena has often led to violence, not peace. The writer is a Fellow at the Washington Institute and director of its Project on Arab-Israel Relations.
2024-02-19 00:00:00
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