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Two into One

The Israelis may still be talking about a two-State solution, but the Palestinians may be having second thoughts about it, as the Toronto Star reports in a piece "Palestinians revive idea of one-state solution":

"Among Palestinians, the idea has long been out of fashion. But in recent weeks, the notion of a single bi-national state for Arabs and Jews has experienced something of a revival among Palestinians, most notably when Sari Nusseibeh, a respected intellectual and president of Al Quds University in East Jerusalem, spoke favourably about the concept in a lengthy interview with an Israeli newspaper.

"I think one should maybe begin, on the Palestinian side, to begin a debate, to re-engage in the idea of one state," Nusseibeh said, in remarks published last month by Haaretz.

The main point of Nusseibeh, 59, was that the search for a two-state solution – an independent Palestine dwelling alongside Israel – is now floundering so badly it may never recover.

After many years of failed negotiations, the two-state vision is still far from reality, and few expect current peace talks between Israel and Fatah – the more moderate Palestinian political faction – to change matters by much, if at all."

Meanwhile, coincidentally, Haaretz reports in "Olmert: There's no such thing as 'Greater Israel' anymore" that PM Olmert - with his last days in office looming has said that "Greater Israel is over. There is no such thing. Anyone who talks that way is deluding themselves."

Not only that:

"I thought that land from the Jordan River through to the sea was all ours, but ultimately, after a long and tortured process, I arrived at the conclusion that we must share with those we live with, if we don't want to be a bi-national state."

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