What does Fayyad's ultimatum mean?

Prime Minister in Ramallah Salam Fayyad said in Bil'in on Friday that Israel "should either give Palestinians freedom or the right to vote."

Does this mean the two-state solution is history?

For economic, security, and social considerations the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank alone is not possible.

The West Bank has no geographic contiguity with the Gaza Strip, and the capital Jerusalem has been encircled with a 15-meter cement wall.

So, the Palestinian leadership should explain to the Palestinian people its vision of the creation of an independent state.

In reality, the establishment of any Palestinian state must be either approved and supported by Israel or established in defiance of Israel through cooperation with Jordan economically, politically, administratively, geographically, and even in transportation matters.

Having passed the stage of hope and meditation, we are now faced with a two-way exit. We have to decide before September which path to take.

We need to decide whether we want a confederation with Jordan, or a state in cooperation with Israel.

The other options and slogans on the lips of political leaders, who practice politics professionally, are useless. All they do is exhaust the public year after year until they eventually reach a state of confusion and estrangement.

In 2001, some Palestinian leaders posed the idea of one state which Israel refuses because it contradicts the notion of a Jewish state. Those Palestinian leaders, whose numbers are increasing, have realized that establishment of a state separate from Israel is nothing more than an unattainable slogan.

Such a slogan stems from willingly fooling the Palestinian public, or fear of telling them the truth. The public do not want to hold anybody accountable for Oslo, but rather seek to understand what their leaders are up to.

To quote one of Oslo’s masterminds, who told us once behind the scenes, "Oslo was a great nationalistic accomplishment in 1995, but now it has become a serious accusation."

A Palestinian state which can enable the Palestinians to live in dignity and build institutions is attainable only through agreement with Jordan or Israel.

So, will the Palestinian leadership show more openness with the public and explain what "the right to vote in Israel means?" What explains abandonment of the two-state solution by Palestinian leaders jailed in Israel?

If the leadership has abandoned the two-state idea, they should tell the public whether they want confederation with Jordan or Israel or both rather than leaving us citizens confused.