ISRAEL - Two-State Solution?
The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has brought two conflicting ideas regarding Palestinian statehood. On the one hand, countries in the international community, including the US, believe the issue should be promoted at this tumultuous time. On the other, there are elements in the Israeli government and public who reject the notion of a Palestinian state bordering Israel while calling for the dissolution of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs the Palestinians in parts of the West Bank.
According to United Nations data, there were almost 200,000 Palestinians employed in Israel and in the territories it has occupied since the 1967 Mideast war.
This also demonstrates Israel’s dependence on Palestinian workers. According to Kav LaOved, an Israeli nonprofit organization that promotes labor rights, the majority of Palestinians in Israel work in the construction sector, others in agriculture, industry, and service sectors. The money they earn acts as a major engine for the Palestinian economy, injecting it with millions of dollars annually.
When the war erupted between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, one of Israel’s first responses was to deny the entry of Palestinian laborers from the West Bank into Israel.
However, according to the International Labor Organization, this has resulted in the loss of 32% of employment in the West Bank. In Gaza, which has been controlled by Hamas since 2007, the situation is worse, with an estimated loss of 60% of employment.
Israel’s current government is the most right-wing ever to govern the country. Led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it adopted a hard-line position toward the PA even before the war broke out.
At the basis of any change to the structure of the Palestinian economy and the change the Israeli economy would also undergo as a result lies the political will, or lack thereof, of both sides.
-themedialine.org, 20 February 2024
Arno's Commentary
Excerpts from the article in TheMediaLine.org, authored by Keren Setton, reveal the virtual impossibility of cooperation with, much less statehood of Arab-Palestine in the heart of Israel. According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, 2.1 million Arab Palestinians have been granted Israeli citizenship—paving the way to what looks like a One-State Solution.
Historically speaking, this would be the answer for the Arab Palestinians. Here’s an example: Germany attacked the Soviet Union in the Second World War, which in turn destroyed 83% of Germany’s military force. Large chunks of German territory, such as East Prussia, were simply taken over by Poland, Lithuania, Russia, and others. What happened to the inhabitants of those territories? They were obligated to either pledge allegiance to the Soviet Union, or get out.
This writer, who visited his homeland in East Prussia, found that the German presence has been obliterated. A cemetery in Rastenburg (now Kętrzyn, Poland) replaced or destroyed all grave markers indicating German nationals.
Upon driving to the small village of Windenburg (now Ventė, Lithuania), there were no remaining signs with old German names; everything was replaced with Lithuanian names.
How different Israel is! It clearly shows names, places, and words in both Hebrew and Arabic. When traveling to Palestinian-dominated areas and villages, the signs are exclusively in Arabic.
Doubtless, the confusion is great, but when we consult the Word of God, it is made plain: “Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses” (Joshua 1:2-3).
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
