Many say that the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is dead. Well, if that is the case, then so is Israel's future as a Jewish and democratic state.
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The fact is plain and simple: If there is to be a State of Israel in the future, there must also be a Palestine.
All alternative solutions are neither practical nor rational.
One such proposal put forward by the left is a one-state solution in which Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip form one country in which Jews and Arabs would be – theoretically – equal citizens.
Obviously, such a solution would eventually lead to an end of Jewish independence as there would no longer be a Jewish majority in the country due to higher birth rates among Palestinians and the likely return of millions of Palestinian refugees.
The Jewish people would no longer have a homeland, and as such, would have no place of refuge in the event of persecution. We would revert to the same situation Jews were in before World War II, and we all know how that turned out.
It is also possible that the new Arab majority of such a unified state would turn on the country's Jewish population, leading to potentially catastrophic consequences, perhaps even another holocaust.
The Right has its own solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which involves annexing Area C in Judea and Samaria and leaving the Palestinians with scattered, separated pieces of territory that now comprise Areas A and B as well as the Gaza Strip.
Apartheid South Africa once did something similar. The regime unilaterally designated scattered pieces of territory as separate homelands for the country's native African population known as Bantustans.
Implementing a policy of this kind would turn Israel into the same kind of pariah state that apartheid South Africa was, at a time when the Arab world is slowly realizing the benefits of normalizing ties with the Jewish state, as evidenced by the Abraham Accords. It would essentially set Israel back decades and would validate the now blatantly false claim that the Jewish state has apartheid policies.
The Right also clings to its "Jordan is Palestine" solution. Yes, Jordan does have a Palestinian majority, and in all honesty, a Palestinian state comprised of present-day Jordan and the Gaza Strip would be a lot more viable than a Palestinian state in part of the West Bank and Gaza.
But such a solution is unrealistic, and still would not resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. First of all, Jordan is not controlled by its majority Palestinian population, but by the Hashemite regime that has ruled it since the British created what was formerly known as Transjordan in the 1920s.
And although many, including myself, question the legitimacy of the Hashemite monarchy's control over Jordan, the regime now led by King Abdullah II isn't going anywhere any time soon.
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In fact, several important players in the Middle East, including the Western powers and Israel, don't want Jordan's regime to change, because they consider it a bulwark against the ever-present threat of Islamic extremism. Just imagine for a moment if an Islamist regime took control of Jordan. Israel would once again be faced with a hostile neighbor on its eastern border determined to destroy the Jewish state.
It is time for Israelis to accept the fact that the two-state solution is the only fair, practical and rational solution to the conflict. Any other solution proposed by either the Left or the Right makes no sense and would only lead to more conflict.
What they don't have to accept, however, is the implementation of a two-state solution without security guarantees for the Jewish state. In fact, for now, the implementation of a two-state solution is impossible, as Palestinian leaders are more interested in enriching themselves than creating a better future for their people. They continue to promote the narrative that Israel must be destroyed, hence their pay-for-slay policy and other efforts to promote and incite violence against Israelis.
