A hostage with a flag is no state. A two-state solution is not a solution

By derimot*no - Hala Jaber/Knut Lindtner - August 4, 2025

What the world is offering the Palestinians is not a state. The two-state solution is dead. What the world is offering the Palestinians is not a state.

Hala Jaber

The concept of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine is often presented as a path to peace, but it has become an empty promise, a diplomatic illusion that diverts attention from the realities of occupation and apartheid. This thread examines why the two-state solution was never, and is no longer, viable – through an analysis of its historical promises, current realities and inherent weaknesses.

All the talk about a two-state solution is at best an illusion, and at worst a diversionary tactic.

Israel’s leadership has made it abundantly clear: they have no intention – ZERO – of allowing a sovereign Palestinian state.
Even Netanyahu has said it: “There is no post-war scenario that will lead to a Palestinian state.” This contradicts any idea of sovereignty.

This stance reveals a fundamental contradiction: a “state” without sovereignty is no state – it is a renamed occupation. Israel’s actions – settlement expansion, annexation policies, daily violence and genocidal rhetoric – show that the system is designed to prevent Palestinian statehood, not enable it.

This is not a flaw in the system – it is the system itself.

The rhetoric around the two-state solution persists as a diplomatic distraction, hiding the reality of apartheid while offering the Palestinians an empty promise. So what are we really negotiating about? A castle in the air?

A hostage with a flag is not a state. Stop dressing apartheid up as diplomacy.

Let's assume, just for the sake of argument, that a Palestinian state were declared tomorrow – its functionality would be impossible under today's conditions.

The proposed state would consist of two non-contiguous territories: Gaza in the southwest and the West Bank in the northeast – separated by a heavily militarized Israel. Israel controls all borders, airspace and movement between these areas, making Palestinian autonomy entirely dependent on Israeli approval.

A state without control over its borders, economy, or defense is not sovereign. The Oslo Accords framework called for a demilitarized Palestine – leaving it defenseless against blockades, settler violence, or military attacks. Even if Palestine were “recognized,” it would be a state in name only, with:

• No army.
• No control over borders, airspace or economy.
• No right to defend oneself.
• No protection against bombs, blockades or settler militias.

This is not statehood – it is an outdoor prison with flags and better branding.

But more importantly: this model has never recognized the Nakba – the displacement of 750,000 Palestinians, the theft of 78% of their homeland, and the annihilation of their right to return.

Even the limited territory promised under Oslo II – Areas A and B, about 40% of the West Bank – has been further eroded. Area C, which comprises 60% of the West Bank, remains under full Israeli control. Over 700,000 Israeli settlers now live in 150 settlements and 128 outposts – most built under the Oslo Accords – fragmenting the West Bank into disjointed enclaves.

Settlement expansion and land theft have made a contiguous Palestinian state impossible . What remains is a patchwork of cantons, surrounded by apartheid infrastructure, which cannot form the basis of a viable state.

Instead, the Palestinians are asked to accept symbolic crumbs while their homeland continues to be devoured – and called it “peace.” But the truth is that this is not reconciliation – it is Western diplomacy washing colonial land grabs.

This is not a “solution.” It is an atonement—for everyone but the Palestinians.

The two-state model is a corpse: cold, buried, artificially kept alive by leaders who want to say they “tried.”
But geography, justice, and reality have declared it dead.

Symbolic gestures – such as international recognition of a Palestinian state – are meaningless without control over land, resources or security.
The two-state solution has become a diplomatic foil – a way to maintain the appearance of progress while in reality the occupation continues.

Netanyahu's statements – including: "Any future independent Palestinian state would pose a threat to Israel's existence" – clearly show how hopeless any negotiation is.

Recognition without sovereignty is not liberation – it is PR for occupation.

And then to today:

Western leaders are now rushing to “recognize” a Palestinian state – Starmer, Spain, Norway – presented as a historic gesture.
But what are they really offering
? The current status quo: reduced land, no sovereignty, no protection.

Even Netanyahu celebrates this in his statements, including in his remarks at the White House in July 2025, where he says that an independent Palestinian state would “pose a threat to Israel’s existence.”

Recognition without sovereignty is PR for occupation, not liberation.

Summary:

The two-state solution is dead – if it was ever truly viable.
It offers Palestinians neither sovereignty nor justice, but serves as a distraction from the reality: occupation, displacement, and systematic violence.

Clinging to this outdated model only maintains the status quo – it brings no liberation .

Palestinians deserve more than a flag over ruins or a seat at a table where their rights are constantly put on hold. Real peace requires confronting the root causes of injustice: the Nakba, land theft, and apartheid, and dismantling the systems that sustain them.

Anything else is not a solution – it is an illusion disguised as diplomacy .

Recognition without justice is not peacemaking – it is treason, gift-wrapped.

So let's stop pretending this is statehood.
It is not.

It's PR over politics, and fiction over freedom.

We have clipped this post from Moon of Alabama . It expresses the opinion I have long held about the solution to the existence of the state of Israel. The area cannot be cut in two. A common democratic state must be created for all who live there with equal rights for all. All who have been displaced and robbed of their property must be allowed to return and participate in the reconstruction of this state.

I understand that this is very difficult. But the alternative, as stated in the text below, is even more illusory and will only lead to new terrible conflicts in the future and no lasting solution.

Knut Lindtner
Editor

The editorial team has added maps and graphs.

The text represents the author's opinion, not necessarily that of www.derimot.no.