Amid Support For Israel, Increased Push to Insist on Two-state Solution
Political settlement for Palestinians must be the outcome from the current bloodshed
Even as most Democratic politicians and various political commentators continue to back Israel in its ongoing military operations in Gaza, a growing number are publicly insisting that the Israeli government back a two-state solution after the current conflict has ended.
A wide swath of lawmakers and prominent political commentators who have steadfastly stood with Israel since the brutal Hamas attacks of October 7, but some have begun to say that the current struggle must end with a guaranteed two-state solution for the Palestinian people.
A two-state solution historically has been the plan for Israelis and Palestinians, calling for “two States, Israel and Palestine … side by side within secure and recognized borders.”
It’s been US foreign policy since at least 1993 when the Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) agreed on a plan to implement a two-state solution as part of the Oslo Accords, which was brokered by President Bill Clinton.
However, political figures — especially those on the right and particularly Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — have, in recent years, walked away from a commitment to a two-state solution.
More than 11,000 Palestinian civilians — including thousands of children — have to killed by Israeli forces since last month.
Meanwhile, more than 1,400 Israelis have died, mostly during those initial October 7 attacks.
“What is to become of children who suffer this, whether it's in Israel or in Gaza? What I did take away is that the United States is an indispensable partner here, a nation that must guide Israel to pursue this war justly, proportionally, protecting human life, rescuing people from these hospitals, and we must be the leader to ensure a future of peace when Hamas is uprooted, peace for Palestinian people,” said Rep Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.). “The two-state solution must come out of these horrible ashes.”
Joe Scarborough, the former Republican congressman from Florida and co-host of MSNBC's Morning Joe, has been staunchly pro-Israel but this week said that its incumbent on the US government to pressure Netanyahu.
“We have every right to tell Netanyahu and anybody else that if you want our support, if you want our continued support, you’re going to take care of the West Bank,” Scarborough said.
During a roundtable this week on Morning Joe, BBC journalist Katy Kay noted that Netanyahu just recently refused to support a two-state solution.
“Hard to imagine a worse face for Israel right now than Bibi Netanyahu’s. Everybody that sees him on the screen — except those working in his cabinet, understand, Willie — that every step he takes is a move to preserve himself politically,” said Scarborough, who has been flaying Netanyahu on-camera since the October 7 attacks for having pursued a far-right political agenda at the expense of minding Israeli security. “Everyone knows he’s the guy that let Israel down. He’s the guy that allowed October 7 to happen.
“He’s the guy that, for years, was so focused on undermining the rule of law in Israel that he actually compromised the forces there. So, who says that? Who says that? Not some guy in Washington, D.C. That’s what the Israelis say. And if the Israelis say it, imagine how horrible it is across the rest of the world.
“The question is, at what point does he leave and allow Israel to have a new start so everything they do is not looked at through a lens of suspicion?” Scarborough added.
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