When I Stay and When I Go? Israel's Unilateral Withdrawals and the Prospect of a Two-State Solution

The failure of Israelis and Palestinians to reach a negotiated agreement, and the expansion of the Israeli settlement project in the West-Bank, are leading many scholars and practitioners to conclude that the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is no longer possible. Yet, one strategy could still lead to a two-state solution: unilateral Israeli withdrawal from the West-Bank. If Israel is to follow this path, it will not be the first time it does so. Indeed, since 1948 Israel had retreated unilaterally five times from areas it occupied in wars or major military operations. Drawing on all these cases, the paper identifies the main elements of such withdrawal, and identifies the conditions under which they occurred. In its final part, the paper assesses the feasibility of Israel taking such action in the West Bank. Clearly, past performance is no guarantee for future Israeli behavior, but it does chart the set of precedents that frame some aspects of the both public and elite conversations on this issue.