Mahmoud Alkhatib

Born and raised in Gaza, I stand for a one state solution

Born and raised in a refugee camp in the central region of the Gaza Strip. I have received my basic education in UNRWA schools and received my first university degree in Literature. I am currently doing my Master’s in Political Science at Zurich University. My field of interest is Conflict Studies, Settler Politics, and Political Economy.

I was born two years before the First Palestinian Intifada, while it seems ages since then, for a kid some experiences witnessed and lived in that time can never fade away, cease to exist, or become distant memories. The First Intifada came to an end when I was 7 years old. However, the seens of the first person getting injured by a live bullet, or an Israeli soldier chacing me through the narrow unpaved roads of the refugee camp remain before my eyes as if these incidents took place early today’s morning. Apparently, some memories are there to last. What kids are experiencing today in Gaza Strip, Occupied East Jerusalem, and Occupied West Bank is far worse than the experiences I had as a kid. God knows what they witness and how long these events will live with them.

I and formost stand against the two-states solution. with countless loopholes in the Oslo Accords, and an apartheid reality created throughout many years, this solution is no more viable, and is nothing more than a placibo treatment, a fake dose of hope. The only way forward is the complete dismantling of the apartheid regime of Israel and its puppet government in Ramallah, and establishing a one-state solution with equal social, political, and economic rights for everyone from the river to the sea. The naming of the country then does not matter, call it the Republic of the Holy Land if you wish.