As Binyamin Netanyahu prepares to fly to Washington, is the two-state solution dead?

THE settlement of Beit El (pictured) sits on a lonely hilltop deep inside the West Bank, between the river Jordan and the Green Line that divided Israel from its Arab foes after a ceasefire in 1949. Built on private land seized by the Israeli army in the name of security in 1970 but soon made available for settlement by Israeli civilians, it has grown into a community of 6,500 people, including 350 students at its yeshiva (Jewish religious academy). What is left of an old perimeter fence stands rusting; a new one, drawn much wider, surrounds a larger and still growing Beit El. 

Under any plausible peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, Beit El would have to be cleared. It lies outside not just the Green Line but well beyond the separation barrier, part towering wall and part fence, that Israel has been building since 2002. Most observers reckon that the barrier will become the border if peace is ever agreed. It runs mostly along the Green Line, but in several places makes deep salients into the West Bank.

Donald Trump has called peace between Israel and Palestine the “ultimate deal”. He has asked...Continue reading