Mohammad Amjad Hossain :
Having crossed five decades since Arab-Israeli conflict in 1967 the prospect of two states gradually died down with the passage of time. Both the parties in fact agreed to have two state solution following defect in Arab and Israel war in 1967.Israel and Palestine conflict has affected Middle East landscape. Since 1991 tremendous efforts were exerted by the President of the United States George Walker Bush since Madrid conference but results were ineffective.
Several bilateral peace talks took place in Washington between Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel Following Oslo talks. It was known as Oslo peace talk but it was signed in Washington, DC in presence of President of the United President Mr. Bill Clinton in 1993. The result of Oslo talk was devastating which caused assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Mr. Yitzhak Rabin which meant that hard core Israeli did not appreciate any compromise with Palestinian. Peace talk in Taba in 1995, Waye River in 1998 and Sharm-el-Sheikh in 1999 did not produce any result.
The fact was that the people of Palestinian accepted jewish people when they were driven out from Germany and Russia in 40s and in spite of Holocaust in Germany.
Madrid peace talk were President of Soviet union Mr,Mikhail Gorbachev participated which turned into Road map in 2003 to bring two state solution in practicable.
A series of talks including that of between Israeli Prime Minister Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Mahmoud Abbas took place to resolve two state problem through negotiation. At one stage there was dispute between President Obama and Prime Minister of Israel Netanyahu and no progress took place. President Obama was opposed to expansion of Jewish settlement in Palestine territories.
It is regrettable to note that Security Council resolution 242 in 1967 or 332 in 1978 resolution were not written under Chapter V1 of the UN charter which means Security Council recommended to withdraw from occupied territories of Palestine. But the Security Council cannot force Israel to vacate occupied territories since it was not written under chapter V1 of the UN Charter. Here lies the basic problem of solution of two states.
However, a bombshell was exploded when a new plan was announced on 30 January at White House by President Donald Trump alongside with Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel. The proposed plan was meant to occupy 30 percent of West Bank of Palestine plus entire Jerusalem. Proposal was misnomer by itself. Because statusco of Jerusalem has been spelt out in UN resolution of 181 in 1947.This resolution clearly stated that called for partition of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states with Jerusalem City as a corpus separatism entity.
That fact remains that neither West Bank which belonged to Fatah faction of Palestinian nor Gaza strip which occupied by Hamas faction of Palestinian has had any elected government during the last several years of their existence while State of Israel has had representative government since occupation in May in 1948. Only in 1999 Hamas won the election but did not share power with Fatah. In 1948 with Mr. David Ben-Gurion, Head of Jewish agency as Prime Minister of State of Israel and the United States of America was the first country recognized State of Israel.
For more than a quarter of a century Palestine movement has been split into two faction; Fatah and Hamas. In Spite of compromise by last King of Saudi Arabia no compromise did work between Fatah and Hamas. In spite of precarious situation President Donald Trump disclosed a two -state plan along with Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu from White House on 29 January this year which in fact gave 30 percent of West Bank to State of Israel while Jerusalem to Israel which is internationally disputed. Although the proposed plan accepted two-state solution but details leave many questions how it serves the two-state formula a basis for bringing both parties to the negotiating table.
(Mohammad Amjad Hossain,retired
diplomat from Bangladesh and former President of Nova toastmaster International club of USA, writes from Virginia)
