What is the two-state solution?

ramallah — The idea of a Palestinian state existing alongside Israel has been the basis of decades of international efforts to end the conflict.

After new US President Donald Trump’s regime said it is no longer wedded to the so-called two-state solution, here are some questions and answers about the idea and the possible alternatives.

The two-state solution envisions independent Israeli and Palestinian states coexisting side by side peacefully.

This means creating a Palestinian state on the rough basis of the situation before 1967, when Israel occupied east Jerusalem and the West Bank in a war with its Arab neighbours. The socalled Green Line demarcates the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians see as their capital.

In 1988, then Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat unveiled a declaration of independence which, for the first time, referred to “two states for two peoples.”

This recognition is endorsed by the Palestine Liberation Organisation, which includes most Palestinian movements. Islamic Jihad and Hamas are not included and do not recognise Israel.

The UN partition plan from 1947 also proposed two states, one Arab and one Jewish, with Jerusalem placed under separate international control.

Senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi says there is “a global consensus” that the two-state solution is the best route to peace.

The United Nations, at which the State of Palestine has observer status, has endorsed it, as has the European Union.

The 2012 Arab Peace Initiative, which calls for the creation of a Palestinian state in exchange for recognition of Israel by Arab States, is also based on two states.

In December 2016, outgoing US Secretary of State John Kerry said that it was the only way to lasting peace.