By Jay Jackson, New York Statesman
16 Nov 2023, 22:35 GMT+10
Israel appears now to be proposing a three-state solution to settle the decades-long Israel-Palestinian conflict.
However although it is government policy to support a two-state solution, the current government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is unlikely to accept two states, let alone 3.
Eli Cohen, Israel's foreign minister confirmed Monday the two crossings connecting Israel and Gaza, Kerem Shalom and Ere, which have been closed since 2007 as part of a land, sea and air blockade, will never reopen.
A forever closure of the only two crossings between Israel and Gaza will permanently separate Gaza from the West Bank. The international community and Israel have supported, at least publicly, a two-state solution with Gaza and the West Bank comprising the Palestinian state.
Isolating Gaza will also prevent supplies being delivered to the enclave. While the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border can be utilized, according to Israel it is not suitable for heavy commercial use.
Cohen's answer to that is that goods can be delivered by sea from Cyprus.
"The understanding in Israel is that there will be no more contact between Israel and Gaza," the Israeli foreign minister told a press conference on Monday.
"The District Coordination and Liaison Office can become a museum," he said.
He added that workers from Gaza, previously allowed to work in Israel will never be allowed to enter the country again.
"There won't be a connection of goods and there won't be a connection of people, including workers," he said.
Miriam Marmur, public advocacy director for Israeli left-wing NGO Gisha - Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, said her organization opposes the temporary and permanent closure of the two Israeli crossings.
"Obviously there is a desire that has been expressed in the past and more recently including by many in the current Israeli government to permanently divide Gaza from the West Bank and from Israel," Marmur told The Jerusalem Post.
Such a step "undermines the possibly of a Palestinian state that would include both Gaza and the West Bank," she added.
Get a daily dose of New York Statesman news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to New York Statesman.
More InformationIsrael resumed its military operation in the Gaza Strip on Friday with heavy bombardments. As strikes continue, the United States ...
The U.S. has supplied Israel with scores of BLU-109 bunker-buster bombs since October 7, the Wall Street Journal has reported, ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: This week, the Biden administration announced a proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would require U.S. ...
TOKYO, Japan: Japan's space agency recently fell victim to a cyberattack, but reassuringly, the compromised information did not pertain to ...
MOUNT PLEASANT, Michigan: This week, a judge sentenced a Michigan man who kept his dead wife's body in a freezer ...
ATLANTA, Georgia: After two consecutive years of declines mainly caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, babies born in the U.S. in ...
The number of soldiers in the Israeli army killed in the current Israel-Hamas war has topped 400. Three hundred and ...