| Chapter Introduction: | Introduction |
|
|
Introduction
Moises F. Salinas
The resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a difficult process; it has defied expectations and conventional political logic on more than one occasion. At least since the early 1990s, it was clear that an international, and most importantly, binational Israeli-Palestinian consensus was emerging toward a formula based on a two-state solution: Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace, with borders approximating those of the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and its neighbors (Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon). These agreements ended the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and established ceasefire lines, also known as the Green Line, between Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.
However, in spite of this apparent international consensus, and in spite of the fact that peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians have been ongoing in one way or another for over 17 years, peace has been elusive at best. The frustration and suffering of the people on both sides of the conflict have led many to believe that a two-state-solution consensus is