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The three-state solution, also known as the Egyptian–Jordanian solution or the Jordan–Egypt option, is a proposed approach to resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict by returning administrative control of the West Bank to Jordan and the Gaza Strip to Egypt. This model seeks to revert to the territorial arrangements that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War.
The three-state solution mirrors the geopolitical situation that existed between the 1949 Armistice Agreements and the 1967 Six-Day War. During this period, Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip, while Jordan administered the West Bank, with no independent Palestinian Arab state in existence. In 1950, Jordan formally annexed the West Bank and extended Jordanian citizenship to its Arab residents.[1]
Although the two-state solution remains the most widely supported framework for peace, the three-state solution has gained attention as doubts about the feasibility of a two-state outcome have grown.[citation needed] In January 2009, The New York Times reported that Egypt and Jordan were apprehensive about potentially reassuming control over Gaza and the West Bank.[2]
The Jordanian government has strongly opposed granting Jordanian citizenship to Palestinians, fearing demographic and political consequences.[3]
During the 2010 Jordanian parliamentary election, concerns arose that if Israeli-Palestinian negotiations failed and the Palestinian Authority dissolved, Jordan might be compelled to reabsorb the West Bank. Some speculated that Israel might favor this outcome over a two-state solution.
However, some Jordanian figures, such as Senate President Taher al-Masri, have expressed support for Jordanian sovereignty over the West Bank. In May 2010, al-Masri referred to "the two united banks [of the Jordan River], with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan emerging on both banks of the holy river".[4]
The three-state solution has been advocated by:
In 1997, discussions at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London involved Gerald Levin regarding a proposed canal from the Dead Sea, which could create agricultural opportunities for Jordan, Egypt, and Israel. Reports suggested Jordan might administer 17–21% of the West Bank to facilitate the project.[10]
The term three-state solution has also been used to describe the post-2007 reality following the Fatah–Hamas conflict, where:
Some analysts argue this de facto division renders the two-state solution obsolete.[11][12] In 2012, reports suggested Hamas was considering declaring Gaza's independence with Egyptian backing.[13]