A Moment of Reckoning.
The Future of the Two-State Solution:
A Moment of Reckoning

In the wake of staggering losses -- the harrowing massacre of Israeli communities in the south that included the cruel murder of 1400 Israelis and kidnapping of hundreds, the extensive bombardment of the Gaza Strip that has left thousands of civilians dead, the magnitude of the burgeoning humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the acute hostage ordeal -- the weight of the tragedy that has befallen both Israelis and Palestinians has shaken the region and the world. Amid the chaos, pain and despair, it is challenging to envision a path forward through the thick fog of war.

New openings are yet to emerge, but they will. The question is whether opportunities can be seized and crises leveraged to bring about meaningful change and renewed mobilization toward a negotiated political solution. We sit at the precipice of an inflection point for the future of both peoples, and for the two-state solution. The next steps taken by Israel, the international community, the Arab world and the Palestinian Authority, are pivotal in determining the trajectory.



We outline four significant opportunities to be seized that can steer us toward a two-state solution.

  1. Shifting gear from conflict management to conflict resolution.
  2. Stabilizing volatile fronts, strengthening pragmatic actors.
  3. Harnessing and mobilizing renewed international interest.
  4. Revitalizing and reactivating Israeli and Palestinian public sentiment.


As a result of these indicators, which we analyze in more depth below, the Two-State Index increased by 4.3%, rising from 4.99 to 5.21.