'Stuck Together'? Can a Two-State Confederation End the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Abstract

Our aim in this chapter, which appears in a comparative study of federalism and decentralization in the contemporary MENA region, is to describe, and offer a critical assessment of, confederal approaches to resolving the conflict in Israel/Palestine. We review why prospects for the conventional two-state solution have declined and what other models have been advanced as alternatives. After placing confederation in historical and theoretical context, we then describe a range of confederal proposals for Israel-Palestine. We conclude by exploring process and institutional design considerations presented by confederation as a framework for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Keywords: Israel, Palestine, Palestinians, confederation, two-state solution, one-state solution, Palestinian refugees, Israeli settlements, Jerusalem