Column: New Jewish Narrative
Sept 8, 2026
Q. The Netanyahu government’s decision to begin building at the area near Jerusalem known as E-1 appears to be a long-anticipated attempt to block, at least geographically, any attempt to carve out a Palestinian state in the West Bank. Is this how you see it?
A. Block a Palestinian state not just geographically but also, and first and foremost, politically and electorally. With Knesset elections slated for October 27, Prime Minister Netanyahu is throwing red meat to his right-wing electorate and, indeed, to all those angry Israeli Jews whose reaction to the October 7, 2023 atrocities was to join the opposition to a two-state solution, regardless of the consequences for Israeli demography and democracy.
Lest we are misled by events, a Palestinian state is currently not on either the Israeli or the Palestinian agenda. Nor was it in the months before October 7. At the international and inter-Arab levels it is an aspiration and a slogan--but hardly a realistic option under present circumstances.
Yet despite and inspite of Israeli plans to build at E1, a Palestinian state based in the West Bank would still be a possibility.
Yossi Alpher's Death Tango: Ariel Sharon, Yasser Arafat and Three Fateful Days in March
"Anyone seeking to understand how Israelis and Palestinians traded the hopes of Oslo for something approaching hopelessness is well-advised to read this book. With penetrating analysis and elegant prose, Yossi Alpher has told the gripping story of three days nearly two decades ago that continue to haunt would-be peacemakers. Yossi’s faithful readers will not be disappointed with his latest effort."
Ambassador Frederic C. Hof, Bard College
"A riveting account of the crucial days in March 2002 when the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was profoundly changed for the worse. The peace camp has never recovered from those wrenching days, and we live now without any hope of a just settlement. Alpher is a highly respected expert who has spent decades studying this conflict from both sides."
Bruce Riedel, Director of the Brookings Intelligence Project
"A critical assessment of a key period in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict never before presented in such detail. The best and most capable players at the executive and political levels proved unable to forge any resolution, final or partial, because both parties continued to maintain an insurmountable gulf between themselves. This is a MUST read for anyone daring to tackle the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and of Israel-Arab relations in general."
Efraim Halevy, former Head of the Mossad (1998-2002)
Oraib Khader and Avi Bar-On are youngish Palestinian and Israeli bachelors with security experience, readiness to do business with one another, a shared fondness for women and money, and total cynicism about the lack of peace between their two peoples.
Oraib and Avi can never become true friends: the cultural and political gaps are too wide. But as they confront a failed peace process and a bleak peace future, they readily become business partners: shady business that exploits a lot of naïve international peace aspirations.
As Oraib sums up on a visit to Sarpsborg, Norway, where the ultimately-failed Oslo peace talks were held, “There is a lesson here for those who still doggedly and hopelessly pursue a two-state solution in the Middle East. Get smart. Get out of the Israeli-Palestinian peace business. Step back and let the Jews and Arabs screw one another while making money.”