IMRA flagged a new Palestinian poll which finds that the majority of Palestinians no longer support a two-state solution. Noah Pollak (via Soccer Dad) wonders why nobody cares about this:
If a poll found that the majority of Israelis rejected the two-state solution, it would make headlines around the world. Yet when repeated polls of Palestinians find solid majority support for terrorism against Israel and rejection of peace with Israel, nobody even has the chance to bat an eye, because nobody hears about it. Such information is not viewed as newsworthy. Remarkable.
The MSM may not recognize the implications of this as impartial news (one exception: the Christian Science Monitor). But you can see some rumblings in the more partisan op-ed pages.
• Newsweek gave Sari Nusseibeh space to “explain” why the Palestinians are losing faith in the two-state solution and trot out the old “Palestinians have already given up 78% of historic Palestine” chestnut.
• Just today, Ghada Karmi calls for a UN resolution endorsing a bi-national state.
• In the Wall St. Journal, the Rais himself, Mahmoud Abbas, made a veiled threat that either refers to a bi-national state or a third intifada:
But if we do not succeed, and succeed soon, the parameters of the debate are apt to shift dramatically.
In July, I noted Six Arguments Against The One State Solution. They bear mentioning again (with some updated links).
1. There’s no shame in the concept of a Jewish state for the Jewish people.
2. The one-state solution negates Palestinian national aspirations just as it negates Jewish national aspirations.
3. Jews and Arabs don’t share the language, history, religion, culture, or values required to make a bi-national effort work. Case in point: without an iron-fisted ruler, Yugoslavia disintegrated along ethnic lines; “Balkanization” became part of the world’s lexicon.
4. Among themselves, the Arabs have no history of successful multi-ethnic states. Lebanon is spiraling into civil war. Sectarian violence continues in Iraq (talk of partition has seeped into the US presidential campaign). Then there are the problems of Christian Arabs in the Palestinian Authority, Iraq, and Egypt. What’s to inspire Israeli confidence?
5. The South African model doesn’t apply. Among the many differences between the two regions, Benny Pogrund points out that South Africa’s blacks and whites had a cohesive leadership who could sell power-sharing to their constituencies, and greater economic interdependence. This is not the case with Israelis and Palestinians.
6. How can Israel possibly negotiate a one-state solution with the same West Bank Fatah cadres who could agree to Hamas rule in Gaza? Sounds like a recipe for a three-state solution.
So on the basis of whose information are you forming your opinions about the one-state solution?
