Dilrook Kannangara

There is no way India, Pakistan and Bangladesh could have existed as one independent nation. They did the right thing by partitioning it ultimately into 3 nations. Similarly, there is no way Israelis and Palestinians can coexist as one nation. A two-state solution was proposed for Israel and Palestine. Though parties have agreed to in principle, they sharply differ on borders. Both sides want more. Due to this greed the two-state solution remains elusive. It costs both sides dearly in terms of blood and treasure. The never-ending Israel-Palestine conflict rages on without an end.

Sanity must prevail to overcome man-made problems in that part of the world and move forward toward beneficial nations for both parties.

Funnily enough Sri Lankans have also been harping on the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine! It is easier said than done. When the problem is someone else’s advice takes the form of philosophical abstracts. But when the problem is yours, the solutions are more practical. Sri Lanka’s internal conflicts have killed approximately 200,000 since 1948. Since 1948 close to 130,000 Israelis and Palestinians have been killed from conflict. Two-state solutions were proposed for Sri Lanka too but were rejected by both parties. Both wanted more land. One side wanted the entire island while the other wanted more than their equitable share. Although Sri Lanka managed to overcome its own terrorist threat, not for long. It came up again in 2019 and given significant global financial support, it is a matter of time since Sri Lanka is also turned into another war zone. Still, most Sri Lankans don’t support the two-state solution. As such how can they expect Israelis and Palestinians to support a two-state solution.

It seems to be the destiny of small nations with large ethnic diversity. They are doomed to suffer poverty, war and hopelessness by the actions and greed of their own people funded and instigated by external parties.

As Israelis and Palestinians fight over a religious shrine holy to both, Sri Lankans fight over religious shrines holy to both major ethnic groups. All parties have only grabbed on to the symbolic significance of those shrines and have forgotten about the substance of why they became sacred in the first place. If giving up certain burdens gives peace and prosperity, they must be given up. That’s what all teachings preach.

Nations never visited by major religious and spiritual leaders do very well in terms of peace and prosperity.