Reply #17: A Sovereign Palestinian State is Not Viable ... [View All]

[Martin Eden]

... while Israeli settlements and roads connecting them slice and dice the Palestinian West Bank.

Will the Israelis voluntary abandon those settlements (where some have been living for decades), or will they accept becoming residents of a Palestinian state subject to Palestinian authority?

If not, how will the Israelis be compelled to abandon the settlements?

I ask these questions not because I oppose a Palestinian state, but because these facts on the ground are a nearly insurmountable obstacle to a sovereign Palestinian state. It is the 800 pound gorilla in the room that never seems to be adequately addressed in all the talk of a "two-state solution."

I think it is quite obvious the Israelis will never negotiate in good faith towards the establishment of a Palestinian state because they have no intention of abandoning the settlements. In fact, construction continues.

There will never be a viable two-state solution with those settlements intact, and the Israelis will never be compelled to abandon them as long as their influence in Washington keeps the dollars flowing regardless of Israeli actions.