Mladenov: Gaza deadlock, West Bank escalation making two-state solution ‘impossible’

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — A top official within the US-backed Board of Peace said on Monday that a failure to move forward in Gaza paired with rising violence in the West Bank are making a two-state solution “impossible.” Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for the Strip under the body tasked with implementing an October 2025 ceasefire plan, was speaking at the Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi. “I would say that if Gaza continues the way it is now, or does not move into implementing… the plan that we have under the comprehensive plan, the two-state solution will become practically impossible,” he said. “Because, with everything that is happening in the West Bank, and with more than 50 percent of Gaza now under the control of the Israeli army and less than 50% under the control of Hamas, there is no credible pathway forward to a political resolution of the conflict,” he added. “The only way that we can build back to that is if we have transitional governance, if we have decommissioning of weapons, if we have [Israeli] withdrawal in Gaza,” he said. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address Get it By signing up, you agree to the terms A roadmap agreed by Hamas on July 30 said that the decommissioning of weapons would be supervised by the International Stabilization Force, the nascent unit that aims to deploy to Gaza if the situation calms. It is led by US Major General Jasper Jeffers. Hamas had pledged to hand over its weapons to a new Palestinian governing body, an arrangement that brought skepticism from Netanyahu but which Trump hailed as a breakthrough. The plan called for a phased disarmament by the terror group and a phased withdrawal by the IDF, but Israel has resisted pulling back until all Hamas’s weapons are taken out of commission. Mourners gather around the flag-draped bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes during the war with Hamas, whose remains were recently recovered from the rubble, in Gaza City, September 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Violence in the West Bank has also escalated sharply in recent months, mostly involving settler attacks on Palestinians, though there have also been several attacks by Palestinian assailants on Israelis, including a stabbing at a farming outpost on Monday. Advertisement Critics have accused the IDF and Netanyahu’s government of condoning or even encouraging the violence by Israelis against Palestinians. On Sunday, Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a US envoy, told a press briefing in Kyiv that the upcoming Israeli elections were making Israeli leaders “a little irrational” on Gaza. “We agree with them on the end state,” Kushner said, referring to Israel. “They just have a crazy election and that makes them a little irrational in certain regards but we’re very determined and we’re working through these things.” “You can’t go in if there’s guns,” he said, adding: “We’re now starting to understand the scope of the militarization of Gaza. 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Sign in to stop seeing this Most Popular 1 8 Muslim-majority nations pan proposals by Katz, Ben Gvir promoting Gaza emigration 2 Analysis German far-right AfD party’s projected win puts Jews between the left and a hard place 3 Report: Alerted to Hamas onslaught, Netanyahu took 2 hours to leave home, didn’t speak to IDF chief for 3 4 Adidas faces boycott calls over promotion featuring ex-IDF soldier who lost leg in 2021 5 1,370 doctors left Israel over past 3 years, research finds, the equivalent of a hospital 6 Macklemore calls for a ‘Free Palestine’ while opening for Ed Sheeran at New Jersey show 7 Huckabee accuses UK government of ‘Jew hate’ over claim Israel blocking medicine from Gaza 8 Israel demands Belgium apologize after Gaza aid worker’s possible Hamas link emerges read more: Israel & the Region Nickolay Mladenov Board of Peace Gaza Strip Hamas West Bank two-state solution If you’d like to comment, join The Times of Israel Community. JOIN THE TOI COMMUNITY Already a member? 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