In his article titled 'Give democracy a chance' (September 27), John Whiteback suggests a one-state solution for Palestine which he considers to be the best possible for the Palestinians and Israelis. This is not exactly the first time that someone has come up with this type of suggestion. Even stranger solutions have been suggested over the years, with the objective most of the time, if not all the time being to confuse the issue and to take people's mind of the two-state solution which, taking all factors into consideration has been universally accepted as the only practical solution.
At a time when Palestinian-Israeli negotiations are being held under American supervision and arrangement, anybody sincere to the Palestinian cause would have lent his support to the ongoing negotiations instead of creating distractions which would only confuse the issue and not serve any useful purpose. I am amazed as to how someone with a functioning mind and an observant eye, who has seen over the decades the treatment meted out to Palestinians by the Zionists could suggest that the two communities could live together happily ever-after and that the suggestion is practical enough to warrant abandoning the concept of two-state solution under which the two are presently negotiating with each other?
The writer goes on to say, "However, if the problem of Israeli-Palestinian coexistence is ever to be solved, it must be redefined and clearly understood. Those who truly seek justice and peace in the Middle East must dare to speak openly and honestly of the ‘Zionism problem’ and then to draw the moral, ethical and practical conclusions which follow.
Now, if such noble, virtuous and unbiased people were available, and were forceful enough to impose their views on others concerned, the Palestinian-Israeli problem would have been solved long ago, and there would be no need for him to write this article. And if such people have not arrived on the scene so far, just where does the writer expect them to emerge from? Does he expect such people to descend from heaven solely for this purpose?
Luckily, decent Jews and sensible people among Israeli leaders and members of public also are becoming convinced that it is only a two-state solution that will enable them to have a Jewish, democratic state, living in peace alongside a Palestinian state.
S.R.H. HASHMI,
Karachi, September 28.