One Country - A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse
by Ali Abunimah

A “visionary”* approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—one state for two peoples—that is more urgent than ever

 

It is by now a commonplace that the only way to end the Israeli-Palestinian violence is to divide the territory in two. All efforts at resolving the conflict have come down to haggling over who gets what: Will Israel hand over 90 percent of the West Bank or only 60 percent? Will a Palestinian state include any part of Jerusalem?

 

Clear-eyed, sharply reasoned, and compassionate, One Country proposes a radical alternative: to revive the neglected idea of one state shared by two peoples. Ali Abunimah shows how the two are by now so intertwined —geographically and economically— that separation cannot lead to the security Israelis need or the rights Palestinians must have. Taking on the objections and taboos that stand in the way of a binational solution, he demonstrates that sharing the territory will bring benefits for all.

 

The absence of other workable options has only led to ever-greater extremism. It is time, Abunimah argues, for Palestinians and Israelis to imagine a different future and a different relationship.

About the author
The Jordanian-American son of Palestinian refugees, Ali Abunimah is the creator and editor of The Electronic Intifada, since 2001, and more recently of Electronic Iraq. A graduate of Princeton University, he is a frequent speaker and commentator on the Middle East, writing for the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. He lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Reviews
"Rather than rehashing the same dead arguments on Palestine/Israel or relying on 'blame game' rhetoric, this book offers a refreshing vision of the future: one democratic state for Palestinians and Israeli Jews, living side by side with equal rights. Certainly not a new vision, as the author duly notes, but rarely argued so cogently and with such sound vision for the future. Abunimah draws on successful examples of multi-ethnic states (Belgium, Ireland, South Africa) to shape his argument for a multi-ethnic Palestine-Israel, and to envision how two peoples locked into conflict by decades of oppression might come together." --Lora Gordon