In the most recent Post there was an opinion piece that noticed the lack of the words “two state solution” in some official pronouncement (“In Congress, a new battle emerges: two states or not two states” (AJP 1/6/17).
In 1948, the United Nations declared a “two state solution.” The two states were Israel, and Transjordan, now known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The border between them was the Jordan River. As soon as the ink was dry, an alliance of Arab nations surrounding Israel confidently attacked, expecting to drive Israel into the sea in under a week.
From 1948 to 1967, Jordan illegally occupied Judea and Samaria; Egypt illegally occupied Gaza.
In 1967, in a defensive war, Israel recaptured her territory from her enemy occupiers, including the Temple Mount. Israel cannot “illegally” occupy her own land. By what perverted logic can Jordan occupy the “West Bank” territories of Judea and Samaria after capturing these lands in a war of conquest, but when Israel recovers these territories in a defensive war, her “occupation” is “illegal?”
The two state solution I can support is the one established by the U.N. nearly 50 years ago.
— Joel S. Heller
