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this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2024
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Same for Hamas. The last election was held so long ago that the majority of Palestinians were not born yet and the vast majority could not vote. There simply is no remaining democratic mandate.
There are currently more Muslims in the borders of Israel-Palestine, and I doubt they're in a forgiving mood. I think there is a good chance that a unified state would turn into a Muslim state. I don't think it's unfounded to say that the current situation of a large Muslim population that is essentially disenfranchised is entirely to the liking of Israel's leaders.
Hang on a minute—the population of Israel is some ten million but the population of Palestine is only some five and a half million. Israel is 74% Jewish and 18% Muslim. Palestine is 93% Muslim. The rest follow other religions or no religion (they are mostly Christians).
This seems to mean that there are 7 million Muslims and 7.5 million Jews. And these figures predate the Gaza war; no doubt the number of Muslims in Palestine has gone down, due to obvious reasons.
You have to have very up-to-date information to see this. Muslims in Israel-Palestine have a higher birth rate than Jews and are much younger. This article is from 2022, when Muslims became a majority. The difference is only expected to grow larger.
However, birth rates are more correlated to wealth, not to religion. Poorer people have more kids than wealthier people. Palestine is much poorer than Israel, partly because of the constant war and unrest there, as well as the lack of a strong state apparatus. This means nobody wants to invest money to start businesses and create good jobs Meanwhile, Israeli companies and people exploit this by hiring Palestinian workers at very low wages.
Palestine is also beholden to the monetary policy of Israel as they are forbidden by treaty from establishing a national currency. Thus, the currency of Palestine is largely the Israeli new shekel.
Once there is peace, there can be work to fix these problems and increase the living standards of Palestinians. Once that happens, history tells us that their birth rate will naturally decline.
Sure, but poverty is also generational. The type of poverty that Palestinians have been experiencing won't be shaken off quickly, even under the best of circumstances. I'm just not sure what circumstances Israeli Jews would consent to a single state solution unless they're guaranteed to stay in power. Many Israeli Jews came from majority Muslim countries where antisemitism drove them out. Their descendants are unlikely to forget that in any discussion.
You're probably right. At the same time, stability and the right environment for business can do wonders for a country's economy. Just compare the dirt-poor China that Deng Xiaoping opened to global investment and the now-dominant regional superpower of today.