Is a 1 state solution possible in Israel ?
As elsewhere, justice and equal rights are the cornerstones of a durable peace in Israel/Palestine.
Some have observed that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967, re-uniting all of former Mandate Palestine, introduced a “one state reality” to the region. Israel was the single state exercising true sovereign powers over all of the territory, even though it did so through a combination of civilian and military administrations. Israeli Jews are the only ones to enjoy full rights of citizenship within this one state reality regardless of where they reside within it.
In other words, we already have a single state, although one currently governed by principles of apartheid. Democratising this single state would avoid the complications of partition - borders wouldn’t have to be drawn, Jerusalem could remain unified, and Jewish settlers can remain in the West Bank (although in desegregated settlements) - and therefore may be more realistically attainable than two states.
Some Palestinians support the single state solution out of principle or simply out of recognition that no other solution is realistically possible. While a number of American and Israeli Jews support a single state, others fear either the loss of Jewish privilege or retribution by Palestinians.
Similar fears animated White Afrikaaners before the end of apartheid in South Africa, and yet the retribution never came, and the end of apartheid brought South Africans a giant leap forward towards justice. Jews and Palestinians have lived together peacefully in the past, and can do so again, when the foundations of their relationship are not domination/oppression but mutual respect and equality.
While it is not the role of U.S. politicians to dictate solutions to others, a majority of voters support a single state solution based on equal rights if a two-state solution is no longer attainable. Elected officials should insist that whatever political framework is chosen by the parties must enshrine justice and equal rights for all.