{{Short description|Approach to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict}} {{see also|Jordanian option}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Israel-Palestinian peace process|Proposals}} 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.
==History== 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.<ref>Karsh, ''Arafat's War'', 43.</ref>
==Feasibility== 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|date=April 2015}} In January 2009, ''The New York Times'' reported that Egypt and Jordan were apprehensive about potentially reassuming control over Gaza and the West Bank.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/12/world/middleeast/12egypt.html?hp "Crisis Imperils Two-State Plan, Shifting a Balance"], Michael Slackman, ''The New York Times'', January 11, 2009.</ref>
The Jordanian government has strongly opposed granting Jordanian citizenship to Palestinians, fearing demographic and political consequences.<ref name="jpost1">[http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1243346481791&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull "Jordan summons Israeli ambassador on bill"], Herb Keinon, ''The Jerusalem Post'', May 26, 2009. {{Dead link|date=June 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
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".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3894726,00.html |title=Jordanian official speaks of 'State of two banks' |newspaper=Ynetnews |date=May 24, 2010 |access-date=February 2, 2014 |last1=Nahmias |first1=Roee}}</ref>
==Proponents== The three-state solution has been advocated by: * Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN John Bolton, who proposed returning Gaza to Egypt and the West Bank to Jordan.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/04/AR2009010401434.html "The Three-State Option"], John R. Bolton, ''The Washington Post'', January 5, 2009.</ref> * Israeli MK Aryeh Eldad, who supported granting Jordanian citizenship to Palestinians.<ref name="jpost1" /> * Israeli Major General (res.) Giora Eiland, who endorsed the proposal in a September 2008 publication by ''The Washington Institute for Near East Policy''.<ref name="Sunset for the Two-State Solution?">[http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/download.php?file=PolicyFocus88.pdf ''Sunset for the Two-State Solution?''] (PDF), Giora Eiland, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, September 2008, p. xii. {{dead link|date=October 2015}}</ref> * Scholar Daniel Pipes, who called it "a uniquely sober way" to achieve peace.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pipes |first=Daniel |date=January 7, 2009 |title=Solving the 'Palestinian Problem' [with the No-State Solution] |url=https://www.danielpipes.org/6110/solving-the-palestinian-problem |access-date=January 13, 2009 |website=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref> * Political scientist Ian Bremmer, who described it as "a difficult plan whose time has come".<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/15/opinion/edbremmer.php "A difficult plan whose time has come"], Ian Bremmer, ''International Herald Tribune'', June 15, 2007.</ref> * An editorial in ''The New York Sun'', which argued that neither the two-state nor one-state solution is viable.<ref>[http://www.nysun.com/editorials/three-state-solution/56874/ "Three-State Solution"], ''The New York Sun'', June 19, 2007.</ref>
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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.milenniumproject.com/ |title=Milennium Project - The Quest |website=www.milenniumproject.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051026042640/http://www.milenniumproject.com/ |archive-date=October 26, 2005 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Alternative use of the phrase== The term ''three-state solution'' has also been used to describe the post-2007 reality following the Fatah–Hamas conflict, where: * The Palestinian Authority governs the West Bank, * Israel controls its sovereign territory, * Hamas rules the Gaza Strip.
Some analysts argue this de facto division renders the two-state solution obsolete.<ref>[http://www.cfr.org/publication/13615/three_state_solution.html "A Three State Solution?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080608195710/http://www.cfr.org/publication/13615/three_state_solution.html |date=2008-06-08 }}, Michael Moran, Council on Foreign Relations, June 19, 2007.</ref><ref>[http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-savage20jun20,0,263343.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail "The three-state solution"], Jacob Savage, ''Los Angeles Times'', June 20, 2007.</ref> In 2012, reports suggested Hamas was considering declaring Gaza's independence with Egyptian backing.<ref name="english.alarabiya.net">{{cite web |url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/07/31/229595.html |title=Report of possible Gaza independence stirs debate |publisher=Al Arabiya |date=July 31, 2012 |access-date=November 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014181327/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/07/31/229595.html |archive-date=October 14, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 2025, Steve Bannon suggested a Three-state solution, which would include a Christian state.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.mediamatters.org/steve-bannon/steve-bannon-calls-creation-christian-state-levant-0 | title=Steve Bannon: “If it's going to be a two-state solution, why not a three-state solution?” | date=December 26, 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.newarab.com/news/steve-bannon-calls-christian-state-middle-east | title=Steve Bannon pushes for ‘three state solution,’ formation of ‘Christian state’ in Middle East | date=December 26, 2025 }}</ref>
==See also== * United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine (1947) * List of Middle East peace proposals ** One-state solution ** Two-state solution * Jordanian option ** Jordanian annexation of the West Bank (1950–1967/1988) ** King Hussein's federation plan (1972) ** Peres–Hussein London Agreement (1987) * Allon Plan (1967) * State of Palestine (declared 1988) * State of Judea (declared 1988) * Madrid Conference of 1991 * Oslo Accords (1993, 1995) * Palestinian Authority (est. 1995)
;General concepts * From the river to the sea * Greater Israel * Halachic state * Palestinianism * Zionism
==References== {{reflist}}
==Bibliography== *Karsh, Efraim. ''Arafat's War: The Man and His Battle for Israeli Conquest''. New York: Grove Press, 2003.
Category:Israeli–Palestinian peace process Category:Egypt–Jordan relations Category:Phrases related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict