Contrary to the two-state solution, which splits Israel between the Israelis and the Palestinians, Israeli scholar Mordechai Nisan proposes that the land west of the Jordan River should be granted to Israel alone.
"It became conventional and universally acceptable that there should be a Palestinian state next to Israel, west of the Jordan River," Nisan, retired lecturer in Middle East Studies at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told John Bachman and Miranda Khan on "America's Forum" on
Newsmax TV.
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"This was a theme that was embedded in the Oslo Accords from 1993 and central to various rounds of negotiations, which took place in the last 20 years between the Israelis and the Palestinians," he explained.
"But a Palestinian state hasn't surfaced and the reasons for that are many," he said.
There is "a grave incompatibility between what Israel needs for its own well being and national military integrity, its right to settlements in the land of Israel, and what the Palestinians demand, which is a Palestinian state emptied of any Jews and a Palestinian state, which is not ready to recognize Israel as a Jewish state at all," he contends.
"Therefore, it's not surprising that after 20 years, no agreement has been reached," he added.
Nisan's most recent book is
"Only Israel West of the River: The Jewish State & the Palestinian Question."
"My book proposes a different way of looking at the problem and the different solution and it is based on the idea that only Israel west of the river, meaning that there should only be one state west of the Jordan River, which is the state of Israel," the Israeli scholar explained.
"That is a symbol of the historical biblical rite of the Jewish people to their homeland to which they returned in large numbers over the last 100 years," he said.
"That small piece of territory from let us say Tel Aviv to Jericho, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, is only about 35 miles in width and it's unable to accommodate two states, two growing peoples, no less in a situation of conflict and violent engagement," he added.
There were protesters Tuesday in Bethlehem, with some of them dressed as Santa Claus, that were throwing rocks at Israeli security forces, which ended up having to use tear gas to break up the protests.
Nisan explained that "the protests that evolved in Bethlehem is the kind of Muslim way to ruin the Christian holiday season and to portray the Israelis as aggressive occupiers of Bethlehem."
He contends that the "Muslims of Bethlehem, who have become an overwhelming majority in that ancient city are trying to always intimidate the Christians to leave and they have left in droves, unfortunately."
"The Christian percentage left in Bethlehem is miniscule, and therefore exploiting the moment of the holidays is a way for the Muslims to continue to intimidate the Christians," he added.