Strategic Assessment

Countering oft-quoted sentiments that an Israeli-Palestinian agreement is well within reach, this essay contends that the establishment of a Palestinian state based on a political agreement is not about to happen. The test of scrutiny from all angles – Israeli-Palestinian, intra-Palestinian, regional, or global – indicates the divide between idealism and reality. Under these circumstances, the author argues in favor of measured Israeli unilateral moves that will promote the separation of Israel from the Palestinians under conditions acceptable to Israel. While unilateralism in this context is necessarily a flawed alternative, the Zionist imperative demands that in the current local, regional, and international reality such measures be taken.