The world sees hope for a two-state solution. Israelis and Palestinians see none.

Rising global chagrin with Israel is leading to a push to revive the two-state solution. This may be its last chance

- Anat Peled & Marcus Walker

The expected recognition of a Palestine state by France, the U.K. and several other Western countries is part of an effort to breathe life into a dying solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: two states living side by side.

On the ground, the two-state solution is more remote than ever. Trust between the two peoples of the Holy Land is plumbing historic depths, as Israel's military campaign in Gaza—by far the deadliest round of war in the century-old conflict—escalates once more.

Polls, which in the 1990s and early 2000s consistently indicated majority support on both sides for two states, have in recent years shown that only a minority of Israelis and Palestinians support the idea—or think it is feasible in practice.

Politicians who advocate peace through partitioning the land have lost clout on both sides of the conflict. Few Israelis or Palestinians think international announcements will do much to change that trajectory.

“I think it died a long time ago,” Diana Buttu, a former Palestinian peace negotiator, said of the two-state idea. “I think it died with the fact that there was never political will to see it come to fruition.”

France, the U.K., Australia, Canada, Belgium and others are expected to use the gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in the coming week to declare their recognition of Palestine as a state. The announcements, some of which are expected Monday, are part of a broader international push to end the war in Gaza and revive a diplomatic path for resolving the overall conflict.

France and Saudi Arabia have led the initiative, lobbying international leaders since last year and organizing a conference on the two-state solution at U.N. headquarters this summer.