The Two-State Solution is a proposed framework (concept) for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by establishing two separate, independent states for two peoples: Israel for the Jewish people and Palestine for the Palestinian people. The concept's origin can be traced to the British Peel Commission report in 1937 and the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 (the Partition Plan) in 1947, which first proposed dividing the land. It was created to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict where both Jewish and Arab inhabitants of historical Palestine sought self-determination on the same territory.
The mechanism was formally agreed upon by the Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the Oslo Accords of 1993, which established the Palestinian Authority (PA) as an interim self-governing body. The core provision is the creation of a Palestinian state in the territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War—the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem—with borders based on the pre-1967 lines (the Green Line), subject to mutually agreed-upon land swaps. Key issues to be resolved include the status of Jerusalem (often proposed as a shared capital with East Jerusalem for Palestine and West Jerusalem for Israel), security arrangements, and the resolution of the Palestinian refugee issue.
The concept connects directly to the Oslo Accords, UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, and the Arab Peace Initiative. Recently, the viability of the solution has been questioned, as Israel's current government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, rejects the creation of a Palestinian state. However, the international community has re-emphasized the concept, with the UN General Assembly adopting a resolution in September 2024 to convene a high-level conference for its implementation.