While Israel, nearly three years later, is still reeling from the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led invasion as well as defending itself from the Iranian regime and its terror proxies, European leaders are once again indulging in their dangerous fantasy of resurrecting the so-called two-state solution.
At a recent gathering in Brussels attended by more than 60 countries and several international organizations under the banner of the "Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution," the European Union reaffirmed its support for the "two-state solution" -- a formula that means establishing a Palestinian state -- which has not the slightest intention of cohabiting with Israel -- right at Israel's doorstep.
According to one report, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said during the meeting that participants "cannot abandon the compass," referring to maintaining a "political track" despite escalating crises. Prévot said developments in the Middle East are affecting the stability of the region and beyond, and called for continued international efforts to revive "the political process" – and an aspirant genocidal state.
The report continues:
"EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc 'can and must do more' to bring the two-state solution back to negotiations more effectively."
According to another report:
"[Kallas] reiterated that the two-state solution remains 'the only way for both Palestinians and Israelis to live in safety, dignity, and peace.'"
Her assertion would be laughable were it not so dangerously detached from reality.
The most accurate response would be a quote attributed to the late US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger: "The lion shall lie down with the lamb so long as there is a fresh lamb every morning."
Let us begin with the most basic question EU policymakers refuse to answer: to whom exactly do they intend to hand this Palestinian state?
To the Palestinian Authority, widely viewed, even by its own people, as "irredeemably corrupt," terrorist, repressive, and illegitimate, and committed to displacing Israel? Or to Hamas, an internationally designated terrorist organization openly committed to Israel's destruction?
With the Palestinians, there is no third option.
European leaders speak as if the "two-state solution" has never been tried. In fact, a version of it already existed in the Gaza Strip.
In 2005, Israel withdrew every soldier and expelled every Jewish civilian from the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians were handed full control over the territory. They were given a historic opportunity to build the foundations of a peaceful, prosperous state. The Gaza Strip could have become the "Singapore of the Middle East."
Instead, the Palestinians chose a different path; they voted Hamas to power.
What followed was not state-building, but the systematic transformation of the Gaza Strip into a base for jihad (holy war): millions invested in tunnels, rockets, and terror infrastructure; constant incitement in the media and mosques against Israel and Jews, and on the ground, repeated wars and terrorist attacks.
The result was a de facto independent and sovereign Palestinian state -- one committed to Israel's destruction. That experiment culminated in the October 7, 2023 massacre, the worst slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust.
The Gaza Strip did become a "Palestinian state" of sorts: a jihadist mini-state dedicated to murdering Jews and eliminating Israel.
Nevertheless, Europe's answer to this catastrophe is to repeat the same failed experiment. What seems really to be in play is that many European leaders, by continuing to promote the establishment of a Palestinian terrorist state, want to bring about another Holocaust and the elimination of Jews.
EU leaders also ignore that Palestinian leaders have repeatedly rejected many opportunities to establish their own state. This is not speculation. It is a crucial, historical, well-documented fact.
At the 2000 Camp David summit. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered the creation of a Palestinian state in all of the Gaza Strip and more than 90% of the West Bank, with eastern Jerusalem as its capital and land swaps to compensate for the remainder. Then Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat said no and walked away, without so much as a counter-offer, from one of the most far-reaching peace offers ever presented to the Palestinians.
The pattern repeated itself less than a decade later.
In 2008, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert presented an even more generous proposal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The offer included a Palestinian state on approximately 94-97% of the West Bank, the entire Gaza Strip, land swaps to make up for the remaining territory, a capital in eastern Jerusalem, and international custodianship over the holy sites in Jerusalem. Abbas refused to sign the deal – again, with no counter-offer.
Had Arafat or Abbas accepted either of these proposals, the Palestinians would have had a recognized independent state many years ago. Instead, they chose rejection, boycott, and, in many instances, terrorism.
The Palestinians' refusal to accept the existence of a Jewish state in the Middle East is precisely what European leaders continue to ignore.
It is easier to pressure Israel than to confront the uncomfortable truth: Palestinian leaders themselves bear a significant responsibility for the absence of a Palestinian state.
The core flaw in Europe's thinking is the assumption that the conflict is about land. It is not. If it were, it would have been resolved long ago.
The deeper issue is the Palestinian blanket rejection: the persistent refusal by large segments of Palestinian society, as well as much of the Arab and Muslim world, to recognize Israel's right to exist, period -- within any borders. For many, Israel is not a neighbor but a temporary, illegitimate entity that must be dismantled.
European leaders speak vaguely about "security guarantees," but offer no credible way to enforce them.
Can anyone guarantee that a Palestinian state will not become another Gaza Strip, a base for Iranian-backed terror militias, and another launching pad for attacks against Israel?
Creating such a state under the current conditions would place a hostile entity at Israel's doorstep. That is a risk no sovereign nation would accept.
Even more troubling is the EU's misplaced focus. Instead of confronting the real drivers of instability and terrorism, Iran and its proxies, European leaders are directing pressure at Israel. Some are proposing sanctions against Israelis and the suspension of the EU Association Agreement with Israel, the region's only democracy. This response sends a dangerous message: terrorism is tolerated, and even rewarded, while self-defense is condemned and punished.
The "two-state solution," as currently envisioned by EU leaders, is not a path to peace. It is a recipe for more violence. Creating a Palestinian state would not resolve the conflict. On the contrary, it would intensify it, embolden terrorists, and increase the likelihood of future wars. It would be asking Israel to take existential risks for the sake of a diplomatic illusion.
EU leaders speak of "solutions" while refusing to confront reality. Until Europe acknowledges the fundamental obstacles -- Palestinian rejectionism and the dominance of jihadist ideology -- its policies will remain not only misguided, but dangerous for international security.
Why, though, should the Europeans give that a thought? They are not even near the region, so would not suffer any of the disastrous consequences -- not just to the Israelis but also to the abysmally governed Palestinians. The Europeans, it seems, just like telling everyone else what to do.
Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East.
