“A Land for All” invited Zulat President Zehava Galon to address a panel on the subject “Two States, But How?” held by Zoom. Also participating in the event were MK Ayman Odeh, MK Mossi Raz, journalist Miron Rapaport, and sociologist Ameer Fakhoury.
Following is an excerpt of Zehava Galon’s remarks:
“For 55 years we have ruled over the territories. We were told this would be something temporary, until a Palestinian partner emerged, but the temporary has gone on for 55 years. Netanyahu succeeded to drive into the Israeli consciousness the idea that he had removed the Palestinian problem from the agenda, while Naftali Bennett is telling us that the Palestinian problem is not what Israelis think about when they wake up in the morning. At the recent Negev Summit we saw the Palestinians being relegated to the sidelines as everybody talked about economic peace. In my opinion, it all boils down to fulfilling the principle of equality, and ending the occupation is the only way to promote equality. Can we go on clinging to the old model, to the Clinton plan and its proposal regarding Jerusalem’s boundaries? Is this plan feasible at a time when the reality on the ground is that more and more settlements and illegal outposts are being built and connected to the electricity grid instead of being removed? In my opinion, this plan has become increasingly unachievable.
On the other hand, of all the proposed plans, the two-state solution is the one that can be realized. I’m not sure that other ideas are becoming more realistic because the two-state solution has been buried deep in the ground. Clearly, a one-state solution is a delusion. With a river of blood flowing between us, how could we live within a single administrative entity? If a one-state solution materializes, the result will be a Jewish minority ruling over an Arab majority.
“I start out from the premise of realizing the principle of equality and the right to self-determination. As I see it, of all the rights we wish to grant to human beings, the right to self-determination, political fulfillment, and to elect and be elected is the most important one, whereas the concept of separation undercuts this principle.”
Click here to view the full webinar.
Watch Zehava Galon: