Prelims 2018 · Q24
EasyThe term “two-state solution” is sometimes mentioned in the news in the context of the affairs of
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) Israel
The two-state solution is the proposal to settle the Israel-Palestine conflict by having two independent States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side. It has nothing to do with China, Iraq or Yemen.
- ✓ (b) The idea goes back to UN General Assembly Resolution 181 (1947), which proposed partitioning Palestine into two independent States, one Palestinian Arab and the other Jewish. In 2002 the UN Security Council affirmed a vision of two States, Israel and Palestine.
- ✗ (a) China, Iraq and Yemen are not parties to the Israel-Palestine question. The term 'two-state solution' refers only to the land of former Mandate Palestine (Israel, the West Bank and Gaza).
Remember · Two-state solution: an independent State of Palestine alongside Israel. The UN's plan of 1947 (Resolution 181) first proposed two States.
Sources
- History of the Question of Palestine, United Nations (UNISPAL) ↗ “the UN proposed terminating the Mandate and partitioning Palestine into two independent States, one Palestinian Arab and the other Jewish, with Jerusalem internationalized”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·