The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been ongoing for decades. The climax of the conflict was when the newly born State of Israel expelled about 70 percent of the Palestinian population from their homeland.

After creating facts on the ground, world powers got involved politically. They started advocating a two-state solution. After 63 years and more facts on the ground, even the two-state solution is not applicable without land swaps.

The peace process since Oslo has been a failure because the core of the conflict is not a border dispute. The core of the conflict is the refugees and apartheid rules of the Zionist regime.

The two-state solution is unrealistic. And, let’s be honest, no one wants it.

The right-wing Israelis, the majority of the Israeli community, want all the land of historic Palestine. And it’s morally difficult for Palestinians to give up their rightful claims in the land of their fathers and ancestors. A refugee from Akka is Palestinian because Akka is Palestinian. It’s impossible for that refugee to say otherwise because then he won’t have an identity. He’ll just be an alien.

Politicians say the one-state solution is just a dream and it’s impossible. Most of them can't explain why. The only argument I heard on behalf of that claim is that demographically, it’s impossible for the refugees to return home. There’s no place for them. Let’s remember what’s important here is that humanitarian rights are achieved fully. A political solution should be based on the achievements of the rights -- not the other way around.

There’s a solution - we just have to think outside the box. A one-state solution that would include the historic land of Palestine and what’s now known as Jordan. This solution could be the answer for all the concerned parties in the conflict; the Zionists, the Palestinians, and the Jordanians.

The Jordanian monarchy was established in the early-mid 20th century. After being promised a united Arab kingdom, Abdullah was given a princedom based in Amman. This princedom has evolved to a kingdom due to the influx of Palestinians who were expelled from their homeland. In 1948, Jordan was happy to annex the West Bank to its territories before the disengagement in the 1980s.

The king would not have a problem with a one-state solution that includes both historic Palestine and Jordan if he was still the king. This would have to be an honorary position like in the UK.

As for the Zionists, their dream is to bring all the Jews around the world to the “promised land”. This dream is also shared by the Christian Zionists who strongly influence American foreign policy. This dream has failed and only a minority of the Jews today reside in the Holy Land, so ending the conflict is extremely crucial to this dream.

And the large one-state solution would provide a larger area that will enable the immigration of more Jews without any demographic conflict. Even the area of the current State of Israel poses a challenge to that dream.

But the refugee question is the core of the conflict. Most Palestinian refugees reside in Jordan. Thus, the large one-state solution would solve the issue without posing a demographic threat to the Jewish presence.

With an honorary king ruled by a parliament formed by the residents, equality could be applied to all citizens.

The right of the return would be achieved for all Palestinians. The Jews would be able to immigrate to their “promised land” peacefully, as opposed to the current form without the consent of Palestinians.

A kingdom could be answer for all the parties. The only ones who would not be happy about such a solution are the arms traffickers and warlords. But we can’t make everyone happy.


Maath Musleh is a Palestinian from Jerusalem and an activist in the Palestinian youth movement. He is a freelance social media consultant and producer.