Analysis
Introduction to ‘Two States, Three Opinions’
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In February 2012, BICOM’s Director of Research Dr. Toby Greene and Senior Research fellow Professor Alan Johnson published a paper through the Foreign Policy Centre entitled ‘How do we create a future for the two state solution?’ They argued that a two-state outcome remained the only viable way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and emphasised the need for the international community to show resolve in finding ways to move towards it.
Since then BICOM has continued to explore the factors involved in the stalling of the peace process and how they might be overcome. We have heard from a range of experienced voices who agree on a two-state solution, but offer different approaches on how the deadlock might be broken.
You can read their views using the links below, or listen to them via our podcast page. We hope you find these perspectives useful and welcome your feedback.
Ambassador Alan Baker: The Palestinians must negotiate. Amb. Alan Baker is Director of the Institute for Contemporary Affairs at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, former Legal Adviser to Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former Israeli Ambassador to Canada. He was a member of the Israeli government’s Levy Committee on the legality of settlements which reported in July 2012.
Professor Asher Susser: Israel should withdraw unilaterally. Professor Asher Susser is one of Israel’s leading experts on Jordan and the Palestinians, having taught for over 25 years in Tel Aviv University’s Department of Middle Eastern and African History. His latest book, Israel, Jordan and Palestine, the Two State Imperative, was published in 2012.
Dr. Gershon Baskin: A deal is possible, both leaders must decide. Dr. Gershon Baskin is the Israeli co-CEO of the Israel/Palestine Centre for Research and Information (IPCRI). He is a veteran peace activist who played a crucial role in the release of Gilad Shalit though his direct contacts with Hamas.
For more information about this and other BICOM publications, and to give feedback, email BICOM’s Director of Research Dr. Toby Greene at tobyg@bicom.org.uk.