Palestinian girls, who fled their homes with their families during Israel’s offensive, looked out of a window at a U.N. school in northern Gaza Strip. (Photo: Mohammed Salem) 
Shibley Telhami, a professor for peace and development at the University of Maryland and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, joins our panel to discuss the implications of the Israel-Hamas war, which entered its 18th day on Monday. Mr. Telhami is the co-author, with Steven A. Cook, of “Addressing the Arab-Israeli Conflict,” a recommendation by the Council on Foreign Relations and Brookings to the Obama administration.
While the pictures of death and destruction in Gaza, as well as the images of rockets hitting Israeli cities, have made the Palestinian-Israeli issue more urgent for the Obama administration, it was already urgent in a bigger sense. Time is running out on the two-state solution.
The Israel-Gaza Conflict
Other experts on this panel discussing the war in Gaza.
Barack Obama must not be indifferent to the immense suffering of civilians in the region. Indeed, this is the window through which people in the Middle East and the world are viewing the conflict — and most are stunned by the seeming indifference of the Bush administration. All eyes are now on the president-elect and he will not have a second chance to make a first impression. But just as important, Mr. Obama must recognize that American involvement in preserving the two-state solution is crucial.
“The U.S. cannot let the two-state solution collapse.”
The two-state solution is under assault — elites, especially on the Palestinian side, are losing faith in its viability, and even its desirability — as the Palestinian Territories fragment socially, economically and territorially and as Israeli settlements continue to grow in the West Bank. The United States cannot let it collapse. It is the only realistic alternative since the Israelis will not accept a one-state solution and the Palestinians will not acquiesce in their conditions. The collapse of the two-state option would stress Israeli relations with all its neighbors and test its peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan. Indeed, it could lead to another Palestinian Intifada, fuel militancy and have serious ramifications for Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel. The impact would be felt beyond the region, as the Palestinian issue remains the prism through which many Arabs and Muslims view the world.
Despite these troubling trends, there are also opportunities. There is overwhelming support among Arab states for the two-state solution. Even among the angry public, two-thirds of Arabs I polled with Zogby International in 2008 supported the principle of a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders. Yes, it’s true that a majority of Arabs (as well as many Israelis and Palestinians) believe the solution will not come about, but that’s an indication that the popularity of militancy in the region is more an outcome of the failure at peace-making than an embrace of militant ideologies. The key is to create hope and incentives for most, if not all, the players by introducing a credible regional framework for peace and security.
Since it is impossible to envision a workable peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians as long as the Palestinians remain divided, President Obama should encourage Arab states to broker Palestinian reconciliation and a cease-fire as a prelude to effective diplomacy aimed at a comprehensive peace between Israel and its neighbors.
Can Hamas reconcile itself to a two-state solution? Will they ultimately value nation over ideology? Will they be lured by the prospect of independence and governance? I don’t know. But I do know that we have not put in place a credible process that shifts public opinion and tests Hamas — and that the alternative to putting such a process in place is almost certain failure — and more bloodshed and suffering.
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How can the world DONT REALIZE
ITS A RELIGIOUS WAR !!
Its IRAN S WAR AGAINST WESTERN CIVILIZATTION..
that Gaza s WAR is made with Palestinian blood.. very cheap por Iran…
— zalmen Natesand btway
Do palestinians who need humanitarian WORLD help.. more than African s WARS… I do not see the poverty and innanition on Palis faces as I see them in Uganda, congo.. and rest of Africa… Haw many deads DAOILY in Africa… (and from hunguer how many???
memo to NY Times and Council On Foreign Relations: Israel has already accepted a two-state solution.
now you need to convince the Palestinians, especially Hamas and their Iranian sponsors. Hamas is the party that has rejected the two state solution, not Israel. You keep pressuring Israel to compromise away its own security, but you need convince Hamas to accept two states.
— Randy B. GoodeIf Hamas had built Singapore on the Gaza strip instead of Somalia, events would be playing out differently. Unfortunately, Palestinian leadership never thinks big or takes any risks. The rhetoric is always the same - bloodshed, victory, martrydom. Everyone suffers from the same group think. Their sociey should be exploding, not with bombs, but with discourse. Their newspapers both in Gaza and Europe should be rife with discussions over how to achieve their goals, what are their goals, what kind of a society do they want. They are going on sixty years of failed tactics. And yet, it is still more of the same.
A brave and revolutionary Palestinian would not take on Israel with rockets and human shields, but challenge his own people. The Palestinian culture is in desperate need of a makeover. They are long on hatred and short on pragmatism. They have invested heavily in death and suffering, but have no track record on lauding the value of life.
Even the few who take a stand against suicide bombing, and it is a paltry few, emphasize its limitations as a tactic, not is moral failure.
The Israelis are not blameles, but they have changed their leadership numerous times over the years, left or right, centrist, liberal, conservative. Its a more open society.
The palestinians do not fear the Israelis as much as they fear challenging their own people, their sacred cows, thier tactics, and their dreams. Taking on that mission would be courageous. Now find me that person.
— danMr. Tomhami– You come from an Israeli Arab family. What do you think about the fact that most Israeli Jews want to expel all Arabs from Israel? Is that okay with you?
— B. MullI would like to give a southamerican point of view, or I should say, a human point of view: There´s no excuse, no way to hide with words what is going on: this is a genocide, an extermination of a country, with a disguise of self defence. NO one can honestly believe that this is a real war. A war requires two opponents. My feelings of anger and hate are really huge because there´s a deal of silence in the media and no one seems to care about the hundreds or even thousands of innocent deads. Only jews can speak of holocaust?? Why should we believe that they are always the victims? Can´t we see what they are doing? Where are palestinians´rights? Why are so many people indifferent to palestinians suffering? I can´t understand so much hipocrisy…
— silvia garciaVanchi
Prof. Telhami makes a number of very good points.
Israel, with our tacit and not-so-tacit support, can “win” the war, and yet we all will lose, if a two-state solution does not
come into existence in the near future.
No right-minded person could support Hamas and their actions. Yet, one thing seems clear: the policy of the West and of Israel, since Hamas came to power (the policy of isolating Hamas) has simply not worked. And the result is the War going on now.
As Prof. Telhami indicates, it will be up to the Obama Administration to do things differently and to make peace in the Middle East a high priority.
The only important thing is what will work, what will in fact bring the sides together. We may not be able to bring the sides together- -the work is primarily theirs, but it’s too important, for us to stand casually on the sidelines, as the Bush Administration did for too many years.
— len perlmanI always use to think that Shibley Telhami and Sari Nusseibeh were right, and that a liberal democracy could rise from the ashes of the Palestinians.
I no longer believe it.
I now believe that the pre-1967 solution of Gaza with Egypt and the West Bank with Jordan makes much more sense than a Palestinian state.
Furthermore, the 5th column of arabs in Israel who have decided that their sympathies are with Hamas, must be given an opportunity to leave Israel promptly.
Shibley Telhami does not articulate and recognize the need for one nation in the world where Jews are safe. Until he does so, there is no hope that his ‘two state’ solution has any future.
— Bert Goldthe problem is that the Palestinian side has not been educated on a two state solution. Remember after Camp David, Arafat said in addition to Palestinian state, there should also be right of return of Palestinian to “Israel” borders.
The root cause of the current war is the unwillingness of Hamas - and its Iranian patron - to accept the legitimacy of any Jewish state within any boundaries in the Middle East.
— Benny FreshThe closer Iran gets to demonstrating nuclear payloads and delivery mechanisms, the closer Jordan will get to negotating new peaceful borders with Israel in exchange for security considerations. There will be no new Arab states in western Jordan, just reorganized border crossing areas. No two state solution. I think american taxpayers will support this. They will not support rebuilding Gaza unless Egypt reestablishes its governance over that impoverish, exploited wasteland, and purges the extermists. Where will they go? Southern Lebanon?
— VAgain no two state solution for arabs living in northern egypt either. That concept is so 20th century.
Prof. Telhami, with who I participated in a panel discussion many years ago chaired, if I recall correctly, by Naomi Chazan, promotes a two-state solution which, he bemoans, is harmed by the growth of Jewish communities in the areas of Judea and Samaira, currently under the administration of Israel.
However, if I may ask: if that two-state solution materializes, and if, as I presume, an end to a Jewish civilian presence arrives with the dismantlement of the villages and towns, - if that is what Prof. Telhami has in mind - should then Arabs be similarly evacuated out of Israel, partially or totally? Should, perhaps, the boundary line be redrawn. Since it was arbitrary in 1948-49, perhaps places like Um el-Fahm, without being even moved, could find itself in the new state of “Palestine”?
But, if not, then why? Why must it be the Jews who have to move? They were forced out of those areas where they had lived for centuries in 1948 (yes, there were Jewish Palestine refugees for a few years until Israel informed UNRWA its aid wasn’t required anymore in 1953) such as Hebron, Gaza, Nablus (Shchem), the Old City of Jerusalem, and newere communities like Neveh Yaakov, Atarot, Bet HaAravah, Gush Etzion Bloc, ,etc. and they were expelled from gaza three and a half years ago but that didn’t help assauge Arab hostility.
And, we should recall, when the Palestine Liberation organization was established in 1964 (with terror beginnin on January 1, 1965), obviously the “Palestine” they intended liberating was not Judea and Samaria but rather Israel.
Is a two-state solution, rather than, let us venture, a form of autonomy or condominium with the Hashemite Kingdom, the only solution on the table? And if so, what do the Jews gain after 80 years of Arab violence against the very idea of Zionism: an independent sovereign Jewish entity in the Jewish historic national home?
— Yisrael MedadI’m sorry, zalmen nates, but I must disagree. There are some very irresponsible people trying to characterize this war in Gaza as “Iran against the Western civilization”. This war is about human rights, land, justice (for both sides), end of unlawful occupation, peace, respect among neighbors. It is not a world conflagration. Please keep the histeria down. And, by the way, Palestinians do need humanitarian aid since they are living in a fenced area, blocked by air, land and sea. Which does not mean that other suffering peoples are not equally deserving of such need. The world is a very unfair place to live. It’s hard to keep on hoping.
— angela costaAn excellent and rational article by Telhami. And then the violent, irrational, illiterate, apocalyptic response in the first comment shows what rationality is up against when it comes to this region …
— Judah MagnesHamas is the ruling party in terms of democracy .They were elected in a fair elections monitored by former president Jimmy Carter.Israel prisoned the elected house speaker and dozen members of the parliament ,USenvoy General Dayton directed the Abbas security to undermine Hamas elected government.It is not fair to talk about Hamas ideology or Irans influence or Syria s because they are elected.
— Salim MosaHow quickly some posters seem to have forgotten that in Beirut in 2002, the majority of the Arab states offered normalization of relations in return for Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied territories and a return to the ‘67 borders, a shared Jerusalem as the capital of both states, and an agreed upon solution to the refugee problem. This peace plan, the most comprehensive to be seen in many years, was ignored by the Israeli government. So the notion expressed by Randy Goode that “Israel has already accepted the two state solution”, particularly in light of the continued expansion of Israeli settlements throughout the West Bank, should raise much doubt.
— AmirWhat do we expect from a certain group of people who worships the God of Avraham and Moses? The God of Avraham and Moses is very blood thirsty, ill-tempered, implacable and jealous hearted.
It is true that Mohammed’s and Jesus’ followers – just like the Avraham’s and Moses’ followers - also refer to the Old Testament as if it actually contains the words of God. However, Mohammed’s followers never had the need to build a country based on a pathetic myth at the expense of the native inhabitants.
It is not worth trying to understand the actions (and justifications) of a certain group of people who built a country based on an outdated and primitive myth. Just by believing in that myth itself, these people have managed to produce the most selfish, most self-centered and possibly the most self-entitled human beings on earth. An observation on the validity of that primitive myth is required to bring back reason and sanity to all parties involved in this saga.
— AbramWhile I agree with Bert Gold above (and others) that Jordan and Egypt taking back control of the West Bank and Gaza would probably be the best solution, I suspect it won’t happen (anytime soon). The fact of the matter is that Jordan gave up rights to the West Bank largely because they realized it was ungovernable anyway, and why would Egypt want another impoverished million mouths to feed.
On another note: please people, don’t bandy the word ‘holocaust’ around lightly. There are around 1000 deaths in Gaza, and perhaps around half of those are civilian. Is this a tragedy? Yes (and even most Israelis would agree with that). Is it extermination? Not even close. You can certainly argue that Israel’s assault on Gaza is too harsh (though how kind would you be to people who shoot rockets at you on a daily basis?). But let’s not use loaded words like extermination, and comparing Israelis to Nazis does nobody any good.
Personally, I do hope that Israel is only trying to take out the rockets, not Hamas. They won’t succeed in the later anyway. And (getting back to referencing the original article) if Israel does nothing now to strengthen Abbas’s hand, then they will have done themselves no good in the long run.
— Bruce SteinbackFour reasons why the two state solution is not viable:
1. Both Fatah and Hamas are terrorist organizations
openly dedicated to destroying Israel by violent means.
and dedicated to teaching their people to hate and kill Jews.
2.A Palestinian State east of the Green line would make Israel’s coastal area vulnerable to rocket and missile attack. We can expect a repeat of the Hizbulla and Hamas
missile attacks which have been so successful.
3. The absence of Palestinian leadership dedicated to
constructively building their society and to educate their
people to stop their hatred and incitement against Israel.
4. Support of Palestinian terrorism from the International
Community.
Dr. Gil Lieberman
— Dr. Gil LiebermanGivat Shmuel
Israel
Palestinians - Don’t stop fighting! We know you are freedom fighters and not terrorists. Defend yourself, your families, and the land you have left. This latest show of force will be over soon. After Israel is done with its elections, after it’s done testing its latest hi-tech weapons systems on you, after you have attended your last funeral - MAKE LOVE. Make new families. Build new schools. Build new hospitals. Any way you can. Replace what you have lost. Take the little bit of food aid that Israel allows you to receive and find the energy and will to survive. Be strong! There are those of us outside that care about you. We will fight for your right to live free.
— boycotterShout over the 25ft high concrete walls around you to your brothers in the West Bank. They are fighting the bulldozers while you fight the tanks.
Don’t sign any more peace treaties. They’re only designed to waste time while they steal your land behind your back. The white man from Europe will make up excuses to not honor them. Give them the bird! Your reservation cannot grow smaller. MAKE LOVE and fight! Your bow and arrows are no match for their guns and cannons, but you have strong wills. Fight until you only have shoes to throw in disgust!
One day the sun will shine and you will be free. The trees will grow back and you will see life. Pita bread will bake in your ovens. The bomb craters in your airport runway will be paved over. One day the USA will not be on the United Nations Security Counsil.
In comment 14, Amir points out that the Arab League (at the urging of Thomas Friedman) offered Israel normalization of relations in 2002.
No one ever suggested that this was anything more than half-hearted, communicated through third parties, and not subject to negotiation, Amir.
Or, in other words, the Arab League apparently never heard of the term ‘good faith negotiations’. That would be consistent with the Arab League’s 1967 Khartoum resolutions (the three NOs) where bad faith became an Arab League theme.
Friedman was apparently unable to talk the Saudi Princes into the words ‘good faith’.
If the Arab League actually DOES ever negotiate with Israel in good faith, which would involve actually traveling to Israel and actually permitting Jews (other than Friedman) into Saudi Arabia to negotiate, then peace will rapidly follow.
But, hey, it’s asking too much for Arabs to sit on a level playing field with Jews; Isn’t it?
— Bert GoldThe Zionist Jews are exhibiting barbaric butchery not unlike the genocides celebrated in their Torah, the source of the Christianized “Old Testament”. The flaunting of basic decency and international law by the lust for land so fundamental to Zionism; cannot be allowed to prevail. This nation, if it is to exist at all, must be limited to the land amount designated in the 1948 UN mandate that created this mess. It seems desirable to rearrange things a great deal: I suggest giving land from the Egyptian border northward until the land size equals that of the 1948 mandate; the rest goes to the Palestinians! This gives Israel the mangled Gaza, moderately friendly neighbors to the south and east with Palestinian peoples to the north that should be focused on rebuilding their shattered nation and allow the Jews the “homeland” they deserve!
— ChaoticianThe first thing that must happen before this “war” can be resolved, is that each nation needs to acknowledge and respect the existence of each other. Whether the world or Israel likes it, Hamas was elected and must be treated like any other government.
— Kelly R.The rocket attacks are not excusable, but then neither are the airstrikes carried out by Israel which have killed hundreds of innocent civilians. President-elect Obama has a real opportunity to help resolve this conflict, through negotiations that incorporate both sides. It is time for the world to stop siding with Israel every time they have a conflict with Hamas.
At the root, the conflict can’t be resolved unless the “proxy organizations” ( that have apparently taken on a life of their own in 2008-09) get more out of peace than war.
— Linda CooperI am saddened to see that most of the comments are so pessimistic about a two state solution, or any solution, to this ongoing conflict. The Obama administration needs to take a fresh look at a solution, but in the meantime, it is critical to stop the fighting and bloodshed. While we argue about the pros and cons of one solution or another, people are being killed and injured by the hundreds. The fighting must stop before the talking can begin. Every nation which has any influence in the area must call urgently for an immediate end to the fighting,and that includes the United States.
Fran P
— Fran PI think those who argue for a Palestinian Arab state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea need to download a Google map of the region. Arabs control over 5 million square miles of largely empty territory populated by peoples who share a common ethnicity, religion, language, and culture with the Palestinians. Israel is roughly the size of New Jersey and surrounded by well-armed countries some of whom still reject her existence (the Saudis insisted the Israeli delegation at Annapolis use the service entrance). And please don’t talk to me about the Saudi promise of Arab “normalization” if Israel returns to the 1949 armistice lines and agrees to partition Jerusalem. A nebulous pledge in exchange for the permanent surrender of land leaving an already beleaguered nation 8 miles wide is simply a bad deal.
There are limited water resources west of the Jordan River and whomever controls the Judean Hills controls the strategic high ground and attack routes above Israeli population centers. Other than the US with Alaska, there has never been a viable non-contiguous state in recorded history and one or both of Israel and Palestine would be bisected in keeping with the two-state solution currently on the table. It is simply untenable for two secure states to occupy the same resource-poor sliver of land. And that is before one considers the long history of violent conflict and mistrust between the two populations.
There are several examples of compassionate and workable population transfers following ethnic or religious wars including the 700,000 Jews assimilated into Israel after being expelled from Arab countries at the time of Israel’s founding. It is well past time the world stopped infantilizing the Palestinian Arabs and implemented the only workable “two-state solution”: Israel for the Jews and (Trans)Jordan for the Palestinians.
— Charles MartelThe idea that Israel can kill 100 times the number of civilians in Gaza/Palestine as have died from Hamas rockets is appalling. There is no question that Hamas must stop attacking Israel but can Israel justify the death of 100 times as many people in Gaza as have died in Israel? Are we not watching the beginning of another holocaust? When you read the words of Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi “Hamas are responsible for civilian deaths”, you find the same twisted logic that Hitler used to “blame” the Jewish people for his attempt at exterminating them. Perhaps Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi should drop the Aske from his last name.
— EM Lord, Holmer Green, Buckinghamshire UK