Analysis: The Two-State Illusion

JERUSALEM, Israel -- In the 20-odd years since it's been on the drawing board, the concept of dividing Israel into two states has never really gelled. It's like a plane taxiing down the runway that never takes off. But that reality doesn't seem to faze U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who appears convinced it's still possible.

On Tuesday morning, two Arabs armed with axes, knives and a gun killed four rabbis, praying in a Jerusalem synagogue. Eight others, including two police officers, were wounded in the attack. One officer later died from his injuries, raising the death toll to five. 

Over the past several months, P.A. Chairman Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) has stepped up his anti-Israel incitement, among other things calling on Arabs to prevent "impure Jews" from visiting the Temple Mount "by all means."

Netanyahu says that incitement sparked the recent spate of terror attacks. Israelis have been shot, knifed and run over by Arabs in Jerusalem. Over the weekend, a terrorist stabbed a Jewish bystander in the back with a screwdriver.

Successive U.S. administrations have collectively ignored the reality on the ground as they labored to bring about the elusive two-state solution. Israel has to have defensible borders. It has to be able to protect its populace, especially in this neighborhood.

The U.S. says Israel has to have security, but it ignores what defensible borders mean because that's part of its "peace and security" mantra.

Meanwhile, countless discussions that never bore fruit were followed by Palestinian preconditions to restart talks, all of which were nonstarters for Israel. Palestinian demands simply ended the discussion before it could begin.

What does the P.A. want?

What are Palestinian officials asking for? Theoretically they want two states based on the 1948 armistice lines. Accordingly, everything outside those lines, which includes Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem, belongs to "Palestine." In other words, they're laying claim to everything Israelis have built in areas that came back under Jewish sovereignty in 1967. But beyond that, they teach their kids that one day all of Israel will be theirs.

For the past two years, Kerry has certainly tried to move the ball forward. He hit the ground running, traveling to Israel right after taking office. He seemed at least as enthusiastic as Hillary Clinton, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, adopting the same shuttle diplomacy with frequent visits to Israel.

In June 2009, just six months after Obama took office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu surprised many of his supporters when he announced his backing of a two-state solution. Some thought it came at the president's behest.

To his credit, Netanyahu stipulated that the Palestinians, in turn, would have to recognize Israel's right to exist as the nation-state of the Jewish people. This concept is unacceptable in Palestinian Authority headquarters in Ramallah and also to Hamas in Gaza City.

Leaders of both Palestinian factions have repeatedly stated they would never recognize Israel's right to exist as the Jewish homeland.

Since Netanyahu jumped on the two-state bandwagon, there have been countless visits and talks by successive secretaries of state who have shuttled back and forth between Jerusalem and Ramallah, holding press conferences to keep the public informed of "progress."

Like his predecessors, Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert, Netanyahu sits at the helm of the Jewish state trying to balance its security needs with the country's growth in all sectors. So while erecting a security barrier in Judea and Samaria to keep suicide bombers out, the nation develops medical breakthroughs, apps and technologies for an increasingly digital world and does a bustling import and export trade with many countries.

On at least two occasions, in 2007 and 2014, Hamas and Fatah agreed to form a unity government. Last spring, the State Department ignored Netanyahu's warnings and announced its willingness to work with such a coalition. Last week, Hamas again announced the latest unity government failed. This week it celebrated Tuesday's massacre in a synagogue.

For now at least, there is no two-state solution in sight.