Presenting a “long-term solution after the end of the war” to the prolongation of Lee’s ground operations
Last year’s visit to the West Bank was claimed by both sides as “premature”.
The two-nation solution is just hope, and there is even a comment that it is ‘Mission Impossible’.
As the Israel-Hamas war enters its third week, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu launches a ground war and declares, “It will be the second phase of a new war, a long and difficult war,” and US President Joe Biden gives both sides a warning about what will happen after the war ends. He raised a voice of warning about reality.
As the possibility of this war expanding into a large-scale Middle East war and becoming a long-term war increased, President Biden brought up the “two-state solution” (in which independent states of Israel and Palestine coexist), which had been neglected, and eventually ended the war between both sides. They say that this solution must be considered as a top priority.
“We can never go back to the balance between the two sides of October 6,” Biden said, referring to the Hamas attack on the 7th. The White House said the president delivered the same message directly during a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu last week.
“As for what the future holds when this crisis is over, our view is that it has to be a two-state solution,” Biden said.
However, this two-state solution, where an independent Palestinian state and Israel coexist, has been an agenda that U.S. presidents and diplomats dispatched to the Middle East have avoided pursuing and did not attach importance to for the past several decades.
Talks between Israel and Palestine for peaceful coexistence have not resumed since the US-led bilateral talks broke down in 2014 due to severe disagreements over several issues, including the issue of Israeli settlements and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
When President Biden also visited the West Bank last year, he only said that the United States’ support for the creation of an independent Palestinian state would remain unwavering, but regarding the resumption of talks with Israel for permanent peace, he said, “The foundation has not yet matured.” “He avoided pursuing it.”
However, it is different now as concerns are growing that the Israel-Hamas war will expand into a large-scale Middle East war. President Biden is arguing that once bombing and ground fighting stops, then the issue of building a Palestinian state can no longer be overlooked.
Until recently, Biden had been pursuing the normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab countries as a more achievable goal than peace talks on this issue.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also did not mention an independent Palestinian state at all in a long article he wrote in ‘Foreign Affairs’ just before the Hamas attack on October 7, but only stated the ‘principle of supporting a two-state solution.’
At the same time, he argued that normalization talks between Israel and Arab countries should come first, and that it would include important proposals that would benefit the Palestinians.
Now, the future of the two-state solution advocated by Biden is full of obstacles. An independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip cannot be accepted by Israel’s extreme right-wing government.
The Palestinian Authority, which controls part of the West Bank, is not widely trusted by the Palestinian people.
Moreover, due to the upcoming US presidential election, it is questionable whether President Biden will be able to properly fulfill his role as a mediator in the Middle East in 2024.
Aaron David Miller, who served several times as an adviser on Middle East affairs under both Democratic and Republican administrations in the United States, said that President Biden’s recent emphasis on a two-state solution is “ambitious language” and a wishful thinking.
“The probability of it happening is very, very low. “It’s basically Mission Impossible,” he said.
Mention of the two-state solution led to criticism of Biden’s Israel policy at the Supreme Council of the Republican Jewish Federation held in Las Vegas on the 28th. Biden’s Democratic administration was criticized for its failed foreign policy as well as its failure to eradicate anti-Semitism in the United States.
Biotech tycoon Vivek Ramaswamy, one of the Republican presidential candidates, said, “Israel must now freely and freely discard myths such as the two-state solution.”
A White House source also told the Associated Press that President Biden’s proposal for a two-state solution is ambitious, but has no hope of being realized within the next term.
Biden’s two-district solution is unlikely to fall on deaf ears as Netanyahu is also facing criticism from domestic public opinion for failing to prepare for Hamas’ attacks. He is likely to focus only on the war against Hamas.
Nevertheless, President Biden said it was urgent to convey the “hope” that he and his team were supporting the creation of an independent Palestinian state, the source said.
Dennis Ross, who served as a mediator for the Israel-Palestine peace talks during the administrations of Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, also said, “Even if the end of the road is not immediately visible due to the current war, the attitude of walking along that road is important.” Supported Biden.
“We cannot go back to the point where we completely ignored the Palestinian issue. This is not hopeless. “If the current difficulties pass, it is not a hopeless task,” he emphasized.
Regarding Biden’s mention of establishing peace through a two-state solution, Palestinian groups in the United States, Muslim organizations, and even some Democratic Party politicians said that President Biden There are many interpretations that this is because voices of concern and opposition were being voiced in response to loud calls for full support for Israel.
John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said, “The two-state solution is not a matter of anyone’s faith, but a matter of the future of the entire Middle East region. “We will not give up on this in the future because it is a way to make the Middle East more cooperative and stable and to enable Israel to better integrate with the Middle East,” he said.
However, since President Biden has expressed concern about civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip but has said that he cannot give instructions on Israeli military operations, it is questionable whether he is capable of properly performing the role of mediator for Middle East peace, such as a two-state solution. There is a high possibility that anxiety will increase.
Meanwhile, Muslim leaders in the U.S. met at the White House with Biden and his aides and suggested that the president should immediately declare a ceasefire and intervene.
They advised that the president’s silence on the massacres of “collective punishment” that Israel is waging in retaliation against civilians in the Gaza Strip could endanger Arab Americans and Muslim residents in several influential states in the 2024 presidential election. .
They also expressed concern about Biden saying that he would not believe the statistics showing that more than 8,000 people had died in the Gaza Strip because it was published by Hamas’ health ministry.
Rami Nasashibi, founder and CEO of the Chicago-based Inner City Muslim Action Network, said Biden’s comments about Gaza’s death toll statistics were “inhumane and heartless.” He said it was a cruel remark, especially unbecoming of President Biden, who has expressed deep sympathy and love for humanity for the weak and suffering throughout his term.
[워싱턴= AP/뉴시스]
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.