The two-state solution is the only way to go

The long awaited solution to the Palestinian conflict appears to have been abandoned by Israel. With the collapse of US-sponsored negotiations in April 2014, there has been no direct contact between the Palestinians and Israelis. The positions of both the Palestinians and Israelis over the two-state solution have hardened over the years with neither side willing to compromise. 

Israel's settlement expansion policy actually stalled the negotiations in 2014. Netanyahu, heading an extreme right-wing coalition government, is bent on expanding settlements in occupied territories.  Palestinians say they cannot resume talks with Israel until it halts building settlements and releases Palestinian prisoners. Each side has been accusing the other for not coming to the negotiating table. 

The two-state solution was originally laid out by the UN General Assembly in 1947 by Resolution 181 (II). The comprehensive Resolution called for setting up two states - Israel and Palestine - detailing every aspect that a state requires. Jerusalem was placed under a special international regime. To establish peace, the two-state solution became the official policy of almost all countries including the United States, Palestine, Israel and the United Nations. But lately, the two-state solution seems to have disappeared from Israeli discourse. 

Two important developments recently have brought back focus on the two-state solution. First was the landmark UN Security Council Resolution 2334 (December 23, 2016) which condemned Israeli settlement-building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The outgoing Obama Administration for the first time chose to abstain and not to block it with veto. Second was the Middle East Peace Conference in Paris on January 15, 2017.  

The Egypt-sponsored UNSC Resolution 2334 was a turning point in American position on Israel. Ever since President Obama took office relations between him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been marked by tension and distrust. Netanyahu had repeatedly frustrated Obama with his refusal to negotiate with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and halt Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The American abstention on the Resolution, first time in many years, was the ultimate explosion of Obama's exasperation with Netanyahu.

Then on December 28, 2016, Secretary of State John Kerry came out with his passionate but blunt speech at the Dean Acheson Auditorium in Washington when he warned the Israeli leader that ditching the two-state solution will trigger incalculable damage to Israel and the region. Kerry warned that without the two-state solution, Israel faces a choice between being a Jewish state and a democracy. An angry Netanyahu reacted with name-calling and vowed not to abide by the Resolution.  

The American abstention was also not taken kindly by the US President Donald Trump. He went on Twitter to say that things would be different at the United Nations from January 20, 2017 – the day he has been sworn-in. He also promised that the US Embassy would be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem once he took office. Having nominated David Friedman (58), an Orthodox Jew hostile to the two-state solution, as Ambassador to Israel, Donald Trump's policy towards Israel would evidently be one of blatant fidelity for Netanyahu and inimical towards the Palestinian cause. That would be a major departure from the long standing bipartisan US policy towards Israel and the Middle East.  

To give the two-state solution an international backing, France hosted a day-long conference in Paris on January 15, 2017 participated by 70 countries, the United Nations and European Union. France has repeatedly tried to breathe new life into the peace process. President Francois Hollande took fresh initiative in June 2016, as the situation on Israel and Palestine was worsening due to lack of prospects for negotiation. 

Holding the conference hurriedly just five days before the inauguration of Donald Trump, President Hollande wanted to convey a clear message to the Trump administration. The Joint Declaration issued after the meeting forcefully reiterated the two-state solution; ending occupation that began in 1967; referring to UNSC Resolution 2334 condemned Jewish settlements on Arab land; and asked both Israel and Palestine to make genuine commitment to the two-state solution. 

President Hollande, whose term ends in May 2017, said that the objective of the conference was to reaffirm the support of the international community to the two-state solution that is withering "on the ground and in the minds". That the two-state solution was the only way forward for a "just, lasting and comprehensive resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict".  

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault warned that moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would result in "extremely serious consequences". The conference also expressed deep concern that if the Trump administration did move the embassy, it would unleash violence in Israel and the region. The settlements have already created deep tension among the Palestinians. Mahmud Abbas also warned that if US moved its embassy to Jerusalem, Palestine would consider revoking its recognition of Israel. 

What was unusual was that the Paris Conference went ahead without Netanyahu or Mahmud Abbas, though both were invited. However, Mahmud Abbas welcomed the conference and is scheduled to go to Paris to get briefing from President Hollande on the outcome of the conference. Furious Netanyahu, refusing to attend the conference, castigated the French exercise as "rigged" and "fraud" and is demonising American and French leaders.

The intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict have gone through many diplomatic manoeuvres – Madrid Conference 1991, Oslo Accords 1993, Camp David Summit 2000, Taba negotiations 2001, the Arab Peace Initiative 2002, besides the US-led negotiations during 2013-2014. But a peaceful solution still eludes Palestine.

The UNSC Resolution 2334 and the Paris Conference were victories for Mahmud Abbas, particularly at a time when the incoming US administration is threatening to change course on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. After the international community reiterated its support for the two-state solution, it will be important to watch what course President Donald Trump takes vis-a-vis the Palestine-Israeli conflict. 

The writer is former Ambassador and Secretary.