Israel, US blamed for prolonging Gaza conflict

Two-state solution

Iyad Eid, an assistant professor at the department of sociology and anthropology at the International Islamic University Malaysia, said the two-state solution remains a deeply important issue for Palestinians, who overwhelmingly support the establishment of their own state.

"However, they have encountered significant challenges, particularly from the Israeli side," said Eid, who is originally from Gaza and author of the upcoming book Tufan Al-Aqsa: The Day Hamas Defeated Israel.

He also recalled that just before Oct 7 last year, Netanyahu presented a map at the UN that "effectively rejected any engagement in peace talks with the Palestinians", undermining their prospects for statehood.

Additionally, several Israeli ministers, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have publicly endorsed maps that envision an expanded Israel, encompassing territories from neighboring countries such as Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Syria, he said.

"This vision also includes the displacement of Palestinians from both Gaza and the West Bank. Most recently, the Israeli parliament voted to formally deny Palestinians the opportunity to establish their own state, despite the fact that more than 140 countries have already recognized Palestinian statehood."

Despite this, he said it was still possible to achieve a two-state solution "if Israelis would accept it".

"The new government has one plan. Just to control the whole land. This is why the two-state solution is a hope," he said.

Oruc said the US must "urgently end its support for Israel" or it would "not have any credibility or reliability".