AUTHOR=Strömbom Lisa , Persson Anders 

TITLE=The two-state impasse in Israel/Palestine—The EU caught between egalitarian norms and expansionist realpolitik

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Political Science

VOLUME=Volume 5 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/political-science/articles/10.3389/fpos.2023.1049938

DOI=10.3389/fpos.2023.1049938

ISSN=2673-3145

ABSTRACT=Abstract:
In recent years, many academics as well as local actors have started to question the feasibility of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. Increased Israeli unilateralism, expansionism as well as weak Palestinian institutions has instead pointed toward a ‘one-state-reality’ where Israel is in de facto control over all lands. This in turn reveals a paradox, where international policymakers, most prominently in the EU and the US, and international organizations like the UN, seem determined to insist on a two-state solution, even though all facts on the ground indicate a move away from such a vision where the egalitarian principles inherent in the two-state solution exists in constant tension with expansionist attempts to establish Israeli sovereignty also on Palestinian land. This article starts with unpacking various visions for the future in Israel-Palestine, based on egalitarian solutions the one hand and expansionist ones on the other. After having pinpointed current tensions between egalitarian and expansionist ideals, we present broader international positions on the respective solutions. Then we move to the core of our investigation, a historical analysis on EU positions with regards to principles for solving the conflict, complemented by current developments captured through recent speeches, documents and semi-structured interviews with centrally placed EU staff. Our main conclusion is that even though the EU is determined to hold on to the two state-solution, it is however lacking willingness and/or power-resources to push Israel in that direction. Our interviewees are painfully aware of the lack of viability of the two-state-solution and hence welcomes criticism which could push egalitarian tendencies is Israel by appealing to its democratic-self-image. Here the current spread of the apartheid narrative among international organizations and an increased international human rights rhetoric emphasizing equal rights for two peoples seem to have left the EU balancing on a tight-rope where they have to choose between standing by status quo, risking to support ultra-nationalist Israeli sovereignty-aspirations, or criticizing those, instead exposing oneself to accusations of antisemitism.