Jerusalem — The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in its post-1967 incarnation has been raging for nearly 49 years, with no solution in sight. Several Israeli prime ministers, including Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert, made great efforts to reach a permanent agreement, only for the Palestinians to decline, while Ariel Sharon’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza was met not by peace and quiet, but by rockets and terror tunnels. The terror wave of recent months, in which Israeli civilians have been victims of stabbings, shootings and car attacks, has further eroded the faith of Israeli moderates in the prospects of attaining peace.

All of this has served as an excuse for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make no substantial progress in working toward a two-state solution. Meanwhile, President Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority leader, is Mr. Netanyahu’s mirror image, also doing nothing.

A majority of Israelis see a two-state solution as the only feasible way to end the conflict and retain Israel as both a Jewish and a democratic state. But for good reason, a majority of Israelis also see this as unrealistic right now. The hatred and distrust between the two peoples, fueled by extremists on both sides and compounded by the reluctance of leaders in Jerusalem and Ramallah, has forced me to conclude that a breakthrough toward an agreement is not foreseeable.

The standstill threatens to lead to the formation of a binational, one-state reality with two warring nations perennially at each other’s throats. Such a situation would suit the Israeli far right, which wishes to annex the West Bank along with its inhabitants. It would also serve the interests of those Palestinians who seek the demise of the Jewish state. But the lack of progress will destroy the aspiration of the moderate majorities on both sides.