In a scene that seems as unimaginable today as it did then, U.S., Israeli and Palestinian officials gathered on the White House lawn in September 1993 to announce a new way forward. The signing of the Oslo Accords was supposed to mark a break with a violent past, leading to security for Israel and autonomy, possibly statehood, for Palestinians. The Oslo peace process took seven years of difficult negotiations that witnessed breakthroughs and setbacks and were often overshadowed by outbreaks of bloodshed in the Holy Land. But it ultimately failed.
A generation later, as a new war rages in Israel, the two-state solution is getting a new hearing. President Biden has said that once the current war ends, there can be no return to the pre-Oct. 7 status quo. A long-term resolution must be sought.
In this episode of History As It Happens, Khaled Elgindy, an expert on Palestinian affairs at the Middle East Institute, said any pursuit of a two-state solution would require fresh leadership on both sides. It’s difficult to see who the new leadership might be because peace has been politically moribund for so long.
“More people are talking about a two-state solution now than were before. For the most part, it remains a talking point. There is a realization on the part of the Biden administration in particular that there will need to be some sort of political horizon coming out of this horror show in Gaza, and that we can’t destroy Gaza and then go back to the way things were,” said Mr. Elgindy, the author of “Blindspot: America and the Palestinians, from Balfour to Trump.”
The fundamental issues concerning the two-state solution are the same today as in 1993, only with three decades of complications piled on. Still, it remains a conflict over land underpinned by assertions of nationalism and religious faith: who gets to live where and under what authority.
History As It Happens is available at washingtontimes.com or wherever you find your podcasts.
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