Do you support a one state or two state solution for the Israel Palestine conflict ?
I support the one state solution.
The two-state solution is inadequate to right historical wrongs, as it focuses on the pre-1967 borders as a starting point, which are in themselves a product of the colonization of Palestine, and not the root cause of it. It is thus preoccupied with finding solutions to symptoms, rather than dare address the root cause, which is Zionist settler colonialism and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
This automatically means that Palestinians must relinquish any rights or hopes for their millions of refugees, and it also means that Palestinians must relinquish their rights to live in over 80% of the land they were ethnically cleansed from. Consequently, resource distribution, from water to fertile land, will be heavily stacked in Israel’s favor.
Shortly put, the two-state solution is more interested in maintaining Israel’s colonial gains and artificial demographic aspirations, and lending them legitimacy, rather than seeking justice for the Palestinians in any form.
Support for the two-state solution has also been steadily dwindling over the years, today most Palestinians do not support it. It should be noted that even among those who support it, a considerable number of Palestinians support it due to a lack of perceived alternatives, or as a stepping stone towards a more just solution.
For example, the vast majority of Palestinian university students do not see that the two-state solution is capable of answering the Palestinian question.
The one-state solution calls for the establishment of a decolonized, unitary, secular, democratic state for all of those between the river and the sea. It does not merely advocate for greater Palestinian civil rights within the framework of the Israeli state. However, this would necessitate that Israel relinquish its state ideology of ethnic supremacy. The idea of a unitary state where everyone is equal is hardly new, and was proposed back before the original partition plans. Of course, the Zionist movement being hell-bent on the exclusive domination of the land, rejected this.
Support for the one-state solution fluctuates between 25-33% in both Palestinian and Israeli societies. This is a remarkably high number considering such a solution is often used by Palestinian and Israeli leaderships as an example of a nightmare scenario to be avoided at all costs. Furthermore, it is worth situating these numbers within their proper historical context. In mid-1988 for example, support for the two-state solution among Palestinians was barely 17%. At the end of the same year, the PLO adopted it as their basis for resolution and its support rate rose greatly, reaching a record high of 81% support for the peace process by 1996. It is not farfetched to imagine a similar transformation once the idea of two-states is buried for good.
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