Published: 30 June 2025
Last updated: 30 June 2025
Despite the complexity of the history and the many dimensions of the current conflict, the possible futures for Israel-Palestine are few.
Dr Alex Sinclair has boiled them down to four words, conveniently starting with the letters A,B,C and D.
Sinclair, who is Chief Content Officer at Educating for Impact, and an adjunct lecturer at the Melton Centre of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, explained the four possible at Limmud Oz in Melbourne.
A is for Apartheid
Failure to resolve the status of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza would create an apartheid Israel, with different regimes within pre-1967 borders, which has a majority Jewish population, and the West Bank's majority Palestinian areas.
Comments4
Simon Krite2 July at 06:32 am
Wesley,
You’re horrified by the idea of a demilitarised Palestinian state, not because Hamas slaughters civilians, but because you think it’s “racist”? And then you claim Palestinians are actually the original Jews? You’ve clearly overdosed on the pro-Pali Kool-Aid.
Ian Light1 July at 09:22 am
Because the Jewish People of Israel are a minority in the Middle East seven to eight million Jewish People surrounded by hundreds of millions of Arabic People and two billions of Islamic People harsh and stringent Security Protocols are Mandatory.
So the D is for Defence against massacres and violent expulsion .
Wesley Parish1 July at 07:42 am
When I first heard about one of the characteristics of the “Two-State Solution” then under discussion, namely that Palestine would be disarmed, I was horrified, on two counts – firstly, it assumed that Palestinians are naturally savage and vicious, and anything more racist is hard to imagine, and secondly, it would give the IDF free reign to continue the Occupation under other names. I mean, doesn’t it give you the collywobbles to accept a claim that Palestinians are naturally vicious and savage, while knowing that since they hadn’t moved from their current locations until the Nakhba, they were the original Jews in the First Century Common Era? That’s a bit sus to me. From what I can see, that attitude is not far different from that behind the Mediaeval “Blood Libel”, that Jews were so naturally savage and vicious that …
Simon Krite1 July at 07:21 am
D for Division – But With a Door Open
Division remains the only viable path to preserving Israel as both Jewish and democratic. But instead of a tired return to failed roadmaps, we need a strategic, conditional, phased division with clear incentives. PEACE in exchange for PROGRESS.
Israel should proactively define its borders, reinforce its security, and finalise its claim to a Jewish homeland alongside a demilitarised, sovereign Palestinian state. But here’s the shift:
Upon verifiable emergence of a peaceful Palestinian leadership committed to nonviolence, incitement-free education, and secure coexistence, Israel opens the door to:
• Free movement zones under international supervision
• Trade corridors that deepen economic ties and reduce dependence on terror-supporting actors
• Shared infrastructure projects, from water to tech
• Gradual cultural and academic exchange programs
Until then, a hard separation with secure borders and international enforcement must be non-negotiable.
Call it Division with Contingent Integration. A realistic, defensible path out of the zero-sum deadlock. It buys Israel time, protects Jewish democracy, and keeps the door open – but only for a partner who’s proven they’re no longer trying to burn the house down.