Analysts Say Trump’s Gaza Plan Indicates Two-State Solution is No Longer Viable
While Trump’s proposal may seem unlikely, it has effectively challenged the long-standing belief in the two-state solution as the only route to peace.
President Donald Trump created a stir in the diplomatic community on Feb 4. with his proposal that Gazans relocate and the United States take over the Gaza Strip for cleaning up and redevelopment.
Many Middle Eastern experts doubt the feasibility of Trump’s relocation plan but acknowledge that he has successfully questioned the international consensus that the two-state solution is the sole path to peace.
Senior fellow Leon Hadar at the Foreign Policy Research Institute stated, “The idea of a two-state solution has long been dead. This move does not help to revive it.”
He further noted that no country has agreed to accept Palestinian refugees yet.
Hadar believes that Trump is giving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the green light to deal with Hamas, allowing the U.S. to step in afterward for reconstruction without military intervention or casualties.
Eli Sperling, a teaching fellow at the University of Georgia, also acknowledges that Trump’s proposal challenges the two-state solution and envisions a different future for Gaza.
He suggested that the Saudis might be the target of a complex negotiation tactic by Trump, similar to the process that led to the UAE signing the Abraham Accords.
Former Israeli diplomat Yoram Ettinger emphasized that Arab actions speak louder than words and that many have made peace with Israel without waiting for a Palestinian state.
Shmuel Rosner, a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, sees Trump’s proposal from two perspectives: psychological and practical.
He believes that a significant split exists among Jewish Israelis regarding the feasibility of Trump’s plan.
Rosner stated that the proposal may be radical but has opened up new discussions on resolving the conflict in the region.
Martin Sherman, director of the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies, has long advocated for Palestinian relocation as a solution to the ongoing conflict.
