Romano Rubeo
The Palestine Chronicle / September 28, 2023
Though Western diplomats often steer away from the conversation on one state in Palestine and Israel, Norway’s top diplomat has just said the seemingly unthinkable.
One of the biggest obstacles in the conversation around a one-state solution in Palestine is the lack, or even complete absence, of political consensus on the issue.
The two-state solution remains the name of the game despite the fact that it does not have the slightest possibility of success.
Even those who have championed that possibility for a long time know well that such a scenario is unlikely, considering Israel’s so-called ‘facts on the ground’, but also Palestine’s complicated demographics and the issue of the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees.
Washington has halted its once intense efforts in a political mediation to achieve the once-coveted ‘solution’.
Tel Aviv is only concerned with annexing yet more Palestinian territories in the West Bank; while the Palestinian Authority pays lip service to the two states since that political program is directly linked to its budget, in fact, its very existence.
Norway’s Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt has decided to swim against the current by being one of the top, active world diplomats who openly and clearly champion the one-state solution.
In a statement made during a meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), which was held last week in New York, Huitfeldt was quoted as promoting a “one-state solution (with) equal rights for all.”
Though Huitfeldt still argued that a two-state solution is “the best way to secure peace and security for both people,” she felt that time is running out for such a solution to be carried out in a meaningful or tangible way.
This means that events are “moving towards a one-state reality (with) equal rights for all”.
AHLC is a United Nations-linked office, whose responsibility is to facilitate aid to Palestinians.
Huitfeldt’s comments, although cannot be considered an official shift in Norway’s position on Palestine and Israel, are likely to encourage a conversation among other active politicians on the viability of the two-state solution.
Romana Rubeo is an Italian writer and the managing editor of The Palestine Chronicle
