Skeptic Doves

This essay analyzes how beliefs regarding the feasibility of a solution became the main factor that explains current political disputes over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and why the relative silence of the left’s leaders and the ambivalent messages of the center on this issue further entrench the notion that the two-state solution is obsolete. As part of the analysis, the essay identifies three misconceptions that have cemented the belief that a two-state solution is no longer feasible, namely that there is no Palestinian partner to promote the move; evacuation of settlements – which must be part of a two-state solution – will lead to terrorism; and the settlement project is irreversible. The second part of the article explains why each of these beliefs is wrong.