Exploring the horizon of an Israeli Palestinian confederation

The ongoing war, genocidal violence, occupation, and humanitarian catastrophe in Israel-Palestine have exposed the terminal crisis of the status quo. Despite decades of peace processes, the two-state paradigm has been rendered nearly impossible by settlement expansion, territorial fragmentation, and the denial of Palestinian self-determination. Meanwhile, one-state realities on the ground do not offer political equality for both peoples. In this vacuum, a third horizon is being discussed among academics: a confederation of two sovereign states sharing one homeland.

This evening – as the concluding public event of a symposium organised by NIAS (Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study) – experts on Israel-Palestine and beyond, together ánd with the audience, critically examine a Palestinian–Israeli confederation as an alternative political horizon grounded in principles of equality, mutual recognition, shared sovereignty, and institutional cooperation.

Moving beyond abstract endorsements of a “two-state solution,” the confederation framework proposes concrete arrangements addressing core issues such as borders, settlements, refugees, Jerusalem, and resource governance through mechanisms of interdependence rather than separation.

Tonight we discuss the conditions under which confederal arrangements can emerge and endure, if and how deeply divided societies can transition from conflict to shared governance, and how issues of justice, memory, and asymmetry shape institutional design.