Most two-state proposals assume two separate enclaves, Gaza and the West Bank, linked by a corridor, bridge, or tunnel across Israeli territory. I want to float a single-territory alternative and get feedback, especially from Palestinians and policy analysts.

The concept:

A 1:1 territorial exchange: the entire Gaza Strip (~365 km²) goes to Israel, and Israel transfers an equal area of contiguous sovereign land to the Palestinian state.

To illustrate the idea, I sketched one 365 km² block in the Lakhish hills, directly west of the Hebron Hills. Its eastern edge is the Green Line, from south of the Ela Valley down to just north of Kibbutz Lahav. Its western edge runs about 5 km east of Kiryat Gat. It would join the West Bank along Tarqumiya, Idna, Beit Awwa, and adh-Dhahiriya.

Note: This is a sketch to illustrate the concept, not the only way to do this. Also, this is not a surveyed boundary where I can account for every millimeter. It is illustrative only.

Why consider it?

1. Contiguity. One unified Palestinian state bordering Israel and Jordan, with no extraterritorial transit corridor through Israel.

2. Simpler border. A single line is easier to agree on and enforce than two separated enclaves.

3. Rebuilding. Given the destruction, unexploded ordnance, and aquifer contamination in Gaza, largely open land next to the West Bank would allow planned urban development from the start.

The obvious problems

This means roughly two million Gazans relocating. That isn't a detail. It could only happen as a consented part of a negotiated final-status agreement, never imposed, and I recognize that for many people this alone ends the conversation.

The block isn't empty either. It contains no city, but it does contain about a dozen small kibbutzim and moshavim, whose residents would have to move. These include Bnei Dekalim, Neta, and Karmei Katif - all built for families evacuated from Gaza in 2005, who would be asked to move a second time.

It also contains the sites of Palestinian villages depopulated in 1948, including Bayt Jibrin and al-Dawayima.

(The reverse model: I also considered the opposite direction swap of this idea: swapping West Bank territory for a much larger Gaza to form a coastal state. That keeps sea access and the Egyptian border, but given the West Bank's population and size, and the attachment to East Jerusalem and Hebron, it seems far less viable. ).

My big questions (for Palestinians especially):

1. Could contiguous land joined to the West Bank compensate for losing the Mediterranean coast, offshore gas (Gaza Marine), and the Egyptian border?

2. How much does Gaza's specific location matter, as opposed to the overall viability of the state?

3. Does it change anything that this land includes 1948 village sites, or does that make it worse?

On this day in history, October 4, 2003, Palestinian Islamic Jihad carried out a suicide bombing at the Maxim restaurant in Haifa, Israel, murdering 21 people and wounding dozens.

It was Saturday lunchtime. Families had gathered to eat at a seaside restaurant jointly owned by Jews and Christian Arabs, where Jewish and Arab Israelis regularly worked and ate together. Hanadi Jaradat, a female Palestinian lawyer, a suicide bomber from Jenin, detonated an explosive belt among the diners.

The bomb was packed with metal fragments to make it more deadly. The explosion sent shrapnel through the crowded restaurant, destroying its interior and killing children, parents, grandparents and staff.

Two families each lost five members across three generations.

The Zer-Aviv family lost Bruria, her son Bezalel, his wife Keren, and their children: four-year-old Liran and one-year-old Noya. A grandmother, both parents and both children were murdered in the same attack.

The Almog family lost Ze'ev and Ruth, their son Moshe, and their grandchildren: nine-year-old Tomer and eleven-year-old Assaf Staier.

Ten-year-old Oran Almog survived, but the blast left him blind. His father, brother, grandparents and cousin were dead. He lost his sight and five members of his family in one afternoon.

Four Arab employees were also murdered. The terrorists attacked a place where coexistence was part of everyday life, and killed the people who made it possible.

In 2012, the Arab Lawyers Union awarded Jaradat its highest decoration and sent a delegation to present it to her family. A union representative said its lawyers were proud of her actions. The woman responsible for murdering children at lunch was being honored for it.

Maxim was rebuilt and reopened. A memorial near the restaurant remembers those murdered there.

Wiki

In collaboration with The Petek, here are the results of r/Israel's 2026 Election Straw Poll.

426 of you voted between 27 and 30 September. We counted the ballots like a real election: 3.25% threshold, then Bader-Ofer.

The sub's Knesset

Netanyahu bloc 12 · Change bloc 108 · Arab parties 0 (polling average: 50 · 51 · 12)

If this were the real Knesset

• 7 lists, the fewest ever. The record is 8, in 2020.
• No Haredi party. Shas and United Torah Judaism both miss the threshold. Haredi parties have sat in every Knesset since 1949.
• No Arab party. The Joint List and Ra'am both miss. Arab parties have also sat in every Knesset since 1949.
• Likud at 8, its lowest ever. Its previous low was 12, in 2006.
• The Democrats at 40, the most for any list since Labor's 44 in 1992.

Didn't make it

A list needed 14 ballots. The Joint List 11, Religious Zionism 11, Blue & White 10, Ra'am 9, Otzma Yehudit 7, and 9 more lists with 1 to 3. 17 lists got none.

Fine print

• Anyone could vote, so this shows the sub, not the country.
• No connection sent more than 2 ballots.
• The polling average is The Petek's, from 10 published polls (16 to 27 September). It totals 113 seats because lists polling under the threshold are left out.

Full results: https://www.thepetek.com/strawpoll
Poll tracker: https://thepetek.com/polls

Thanks to everyone who voted.

Not based on recognised statistical methods. No conclusions about voting patterns or public opinion can be drawn from it. Commissioned and conducted jointly by r/Israel and The Petek. Elections Law, section 16ה‎(ד).

הסקר לא התבסס על שיטות סטטיסטיות מוכרות, ולפיכך אי אפשר להסיק ממנו מסקנות לגבי דפוסי הצבעה או עמדות של הציבור. הוזמן ונערך במשותף על ידי r/Israel והפתק. חוק הבחירות (דרכי תעמולה), סעיף 16ה(ד).‬

They stormed communities, murdered families in their homes, raped, burned and kidnapped.

Three years on, Israel remembers the victims and the barbarity of Palestinian jihadist terrorism.

We will never forget.

Source: https://x.com/israel/status/2107674525458718931?s=46&t=YRh59JXhCHDFoUYvch0TKA

This is the first 10/7 anniversary of this subreddit, as we are a new community. We have made the difficult decision to close the subreddit down on that day, and our focus will be on survivors.

We are partnering with u/SafSafeHeartIsrael to talk about the work they do with people who survived the massacre at the Nova Festival and other places in Southern Israel that day

These people and their families need support. This can be in the form of Therapy, Housing, basic needs like food - but they also need the support of their community, and that includes us.

SafeHeart is one of the organizations doing that work

https://www.safeheartil.com/en

They provide mental health care to people in need, and their team of 400 therapists have provided tens of thousands of hours of Therapy.

Trauma care for survivors is critical, and the suicide rate is high.

SafeHeart will have an AMA style post, explaining what they do, and will be here to answer questions all day

No other posts will be allowed on r/AskIsrael that day

None. Zero. While we appreciate the condolences and other posts, they will not be allowed on 10/7. We are making 10/7 survivors our exclusive focus.

The SafeHeart post will be up before and a few days after so people can read, comment, and ask questions. A link to their post is attached here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Israel/s/X676OSFVdN

During the mid-air attack on Flydubai FZ1073, an Indian pilot and several Jewish/Israeli passengers (Yaniv Hayoun, Tzviika Manes, Dr. Shota Musaev) risked their lives to save 174 people.

I was looking into the psychology of why these specific strangers ran *toward* danger instead of freezing, and I found a beautiful parallel between two ancient traditions.

In the Hindu tradition (Bhagavad Gita), there is the concept of Svadharma... the idea that it is better to die performing your own duty than to try and walk someone else's path. In the Jewish tradition, this same universal responsibility is reflected in *Halakha*.

As Pirkei Avot 2:16 states: "You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it."

It’s incredible to see how these civilizational values passed down through stories and upbringing manifest into immediate action during a crisis. Faith is personal, but duty is universal.