Recycled Obituaries for the Always-Elusive "Two-State Solution"

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, and Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat address reporters on the Middle East Peace Process Talks at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on July 30, 2013.

[State Department]

Oh look! The New York Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief, David M. Halbfinger, wrote today that the hope for a "two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict" looks more elusive than ever before.

While hinting at the incompatibility of democracy and Zionism without explicitly saying so, Halbfinger notes, "For the Israelis, absorbing three million West Bank Palestinians means either giving up on democracy or accepting the end of the Jewish state." Then, with the assumption that full and equal rights will never be granted to Palestinians throughout the entirety of their own homeland, he suggests that two-states has long been the "best hope" for Palestinians "unwilling to live under apartheid-like conditions or military occupation."

As a result, Halbfinger explains, the idea of "one state" is gaining traction among both Israelis and Palestinians - albeit with very different concepts of what that would mean.

But this choice between apartheid and a state that actually provided equal rights for all living under it has existed since the advent of Israel in the late 1940s, and even long before. And yet, the time for negotiating a solution is always just about up, the window of opportunity closing rapidly, and all the while, the dutiful press breathlessly reports from the foot of the death bed.

In recent years, as number of Israeli settlers colonizing Palestine has steadily increased, the demise of the "two-state solution" continues to be declared. Here's a quick look back at some of these obits.

January 2, 2017: "The Two-state Solution Is Already Dead," Gideon Levy, Ha'aretz.

December 29, 2016: "Mr. Kerry, the 2-state solution isn’t at risk, it’s already dead," Avi Issacharoff, The Times of Israel.

October 23, 2016: "The two-state solution is dead. Let's move on," Talal Jabari, +972.

October 24, 2016: "As Long As Israel Continues Its Settlements, A Two-State Solution Is Impossible," Saeb Erekat, The Washington Post.

October 18, 2016: "The Death of the Two-State Solution," Sandy Tolan, TomDispatch.

April 21, 2016: "The Quiet Death of the Two-State Solution," Yossi Mekelberg, Chatham House.

August 13, 2015: "Jimmy Carter: Two-state solution is dead, Israel to blame," Avi Lewis, The Times of Israel.

August 6, 2015: "The end of the two-state solution," Avi Issacharoff, The Times of Israel.

July/August 2015: "The Death and Life of the Two-State Solution," Grant Rumley and Amir Tibon, Foreign Affairs.

September 14, 2013: "Two-State Illusion," Ian S. Lustick, The New York Times.

March 11, 2013: "The End of the Two-State Solution," Ben Birnbaum, The New Republic.

October 28, 2012: "Homeland No More: The End of the Two State Solution," Joseph Dana, Los Angeles Review of Books.

October 23, 2012: "The death of the Israel-Palestine two-state solution brings fresh hope," Rachel Shabi, The Guardian.

July 1, 2010: "Is the Two-State Solution Already Dead?" Hasan Afif El-Hasan, Algora Publishing.

January 23, 2009: "Time Running Out For A Two-State Solution?" 60 Minutes.

May 3, 2003: "The Slow Death of the Two-State Solution," Alain Epp Weaver, The Christian Century.

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