Over the past week or so, MJ Rosenberg has produced a flurry of posts on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, many of them expressing optimism about the possibility of achieving a two-state solution now that President-elect Obama is about to take over the White House.

At the same time, in the general media, a number of commentators have expressed opinions that the obstacles to achieving a two-state solution are large and that expecting one any time soon (or any time at all) is foolish (Aaron David Miller's op-ed in the JPost is just one recent example of this line of thought).

Last week, long-time TPMCafe reader Dan K commented (with sarcastic humor) that all these debates about Israel and Palestine and what the Israelis need and what the Palestinians need were debates exclusively among Jews. There wasn't an Arab voice to be heard. While Dan K was being funny, his observation was serious: in the West, at least, we hear the opinions of lots of Jewish organizations and Jewish pundits, but we rarely--if ever--hear Palestinian voices. Sure, every once in a while, NPR will broadcast a three-minute interview with a Palestinian (usually University of Maryland professor Shibley Telhami), but compared with the volume of opinions from Israeli and Jewish sources, the thoughts of Palestinians are practically unheard.

So, motivated by Dan K's comment, I spent some time trying to find some kind of recent Palestinian statement on the two-state solution. Thanks to an article in The Guardian, I discovered that just this August, an organization funded by the European Union and called The Palestinian Strategy Study Group, published a very interesting analysis of the options for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict called: Regaining the Initiative: Palestinian Strategic Options to End Israeli Occupation.  After reading the report, I think it is actually one of the better analyses of the situation that I have read and deserves more currency in the West. I encourage anyone with an interest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to read the report directly. Even if you disagree with its conclusions, at least you will be exposed to a well-articulated Palestinian viewpoint.

Here are what I believe are the main points of the report--though, again, please read the report directly since the Palestinians speak for themselves better than I can speak for them:

• The repeated negotiations toward a two-state solution are primarily a delaying tactic that helps Israel maintain the status quo while expanding its occupation and settlement of Palestinian areas
• Israel is willing to prolong negotiations indefinitely because it believes that there are more desirable options than a true two-state solution. (These options include continuing the occupation indefinitely while appropriating more land and making a Palestinian state impossible; allowing the creation of a weak provisional Bantustan-like Palestinian state while still maintaining effective control over Palestinian territory; pursuing unilateral separation on Israeli terms without any concessions to other Palestinian demands; or working for the incorporation of Palestine into Jordan and Egypt).  
• The Palestinians believe that a two-state solution is still desirable, but only if three strategic ends are acheived by it (ending occupation, establishing a fully independent and soverign Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital; and honouring the right of return of Palestinian refugees). 
• Palestinians also believe that a one-state solution (a bi-national state or a unitary democratic state) is an acceptable outcome.
• As interim measures to the resolution of the conflict through the creation of two states, a bi-national state, or a unitary democratic state, the Palestinians should reconstitute or abolish the PA (the authors see the PA as a facilitator of the occupation) and would be willing to consider some kind of UN Trusteeship as a transition to independence.
• The Palestinians should focus their short-term efforts on making the occupation as costly as possible to Israel so that the current status quo--endless negotiations and continued occupation--is no longer a viable or desirable option for Israel.  Other alternatives (weak Bantustan-like state, unilateral separation, and incorporation into Jordan and Egypt) must be resisted. By making the status quo painful for Israel and by firmly closing down paths to alternatives undesirable to the Palestinians, the Palestinians hope to force Israel to quickly settle on a two-state solution or to be forced into the alternative of accepting a one-state solution.