Is the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict still viable? In an essay that ran yesterday in the Beirut-based Daily Star newspaper, Ali Jarbawi, a political-science professor at Bir Zeit University, advocates dissolving the Palestinian Authority as a "necessary step needed to achieve the one-state solution."

Jarbawi argues that since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, Israel has used negotiations as a cover to solidify its presence in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. Israel's goal, according to Jarbawi, is to "retain as much land as possible while getting rid of as many Palestinians as possible through the creation of a Palestinian state of leftovers."

Here is the essence of Jarbawi's (strategic) case for dissolving the Palestinian Authority: 

The only way Israel might become serious about a two-state solution is if its existence as a Jewish state is threatened. Such a threat cannot come through an open-ended negotiating process, or by launching handmade rockets at Israel's borders. A serious threat would only be posed to Israel if Palestinians announce to the Israelis and the world that they will pursue a two-state solution through negotiations until the end of 2008 (as U.S. President George W. Bush proposed). If no tangible results are forthcoming, then Palestinians should absorb this lesson, close the door on this option, and refocus their efforts toward achieving a one-state option. This would require dissolving the PA, thus forcing Israel to face up to the real challenge of maintaining its existence as a Jewish state.