There has to be an answer to the crisis in Gaza and the Middle East, but what is it?

Recently, we have heard the US administration tout the longstanding two-state solution — a solution that is fraught with difficulty and will leave a permanent scar between two separate societies suspicious of each other. There are no easy options, and therefore the best solution may be what appears as the most unlikely.

The dilemma in Israel and Palestine is not unique. South Africa faced a similar equation with apartheid which was breaking the republic apart. However, the authorities decided to keep one country with one people, each with an equal vote. It did not bring an end to racism, but it gave everyone an equal right under the law.

This is what is needed in this land formerly called the Hijaz, now divided as Israel and Palestine. All religions should feel safe under such an arrangement. It is considered the Holy Land of three major religions on Earth. The Jews can continue to feel that this is their home, as well as those Palestinians who have been displaced. Yes, it is a tough call, but probably the only solution to bring lasting peace.

It’s the extremism that causes hostility and prevents co-operation. Zionism, whether Jewish or Christian, along with Islamic fundamentalism (jihadist). Each is incompatible with a modern world of diversity and inclusion. All the religions when examined exhort their followers to live as good neighbours, if not brothers.

King David of Israel made peace with the Philistines, and his monarchy lasted for 500 years. The genetic profile of the region has been the same for the past 3,000 years, which includes both Jews and Palestinians.

One of the great challenges of this idea of one state is what name it should be called. What about the Republic of the United States of Israel and Palestine, with provincial status, divided along the 1967 border. This could prevail to become the greatest true democracy in the region. The idea of all sides working for each other as opposed to against should be the aim.

All the other solutions keep the country stuck in a perpetual battle with the high probability of lapsing into war. The world needs to realise Palestinians are both Christian and Muslim, both being slaughtered. It is wrong to believe all Palestinians are Muslim. There are also Jewish Palestinians and within the borders of Israel, 20 per cent of its population are Palestinian. Trying to maintain a constitution where only the Jew has an automatic right of Israeli citizenship and the right to self-determination is unsustainable in what is presumed 21st-century democracy.