Gideon Rachman’s otherwise thoughtful article on the grim prospects for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict (“The mirage of the two-state solution”, Opinion, December 12) omits to cite Hizbollah and Iran, whose participation in any peace deal is surely essential to its long-term prospects.
Hizbollah has so far remained aloof from the conflict with Hamas, perhaps waiting until Israel’s arsenal (and alliances) have been weakened by its onslaught on Gaza before committing itself to the fray. If so, the consequences for the entire region will be dire. However, there may be a more optimistic and not altogether unrealistic scenario: as Rachman points out, Saudi Arabia is interested in normalising its relations with Israel. And if the Saudis — in the likely absence of alternatives — are to direct the way in reconstructing Gaza, they will not only want Israel’s commitment to an independent Palestinian state (to avoid the charge of betraying the Palestinians) but Hizbollah’s and Iran’s commitments to a peaceful two-state solution, to ensure that reconstruction is not rapidly followed by destruction.
Such an outcome would be impossible without the recent Saudi-Iranian rapprochement, and without the sheer scale of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, which appears to have led to murmurings of the need for “political solutions” from even Hizbollah and Iran.
Throw in pressure on a new Israeli prime minister from a new American president, as well as an Iranian regime keen to be rid of international sanctions, and perhaps a miracle could emerge from the horrors of October 7 and its aftermath.
Charles Mercey
Somerset, UK
