OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: More than seven months of Israeli aggression after Hamas attacks have highlighted the gulf between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, testing the credibility of a long-sought two-state solution to the conflict.
Peace brokers have spent decades advancing the idea of two separate sovereign states living side by side in peace but the Israel-Hamas war since October 7 has brought a renewed sense of urgency.
Ireland, Norway and Spain announced on Wednesday that they would recognise the State of Palestine, joining seven other European countries that have already done so.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stated his opposition to Palestinian sovereignty, angering foreign allies who insist on the Palestinians’ right to statehood.
Where did the idea come from?
The two-state concept was born in the 1930s supported by Jewish immigrants who settled in Palestine, which was then ruled by Britain under League of Nations mandate.
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In 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted a proposal to partition Palestine between separate Jewish and Arab states, paving the way for Israel to be established the following year.
Was there opposition?
Some Palestinian leaders opposed a Jewish state on what they viewed as Arab land, and the issue helped spark a wider revolt in 1936 against British rule in Palestine.
The UN partition plan and the declaration of the State of Israel became the trigger for the Arab-Israeli war of 1948-49.
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