Israelis aren’t enthusiastic about US President Joe Biden’s exaggerated push for a two-state solution and Palestinian sovereignty in the midst of a war against Hamas that is the result of a failed land-for-peace process.
Polls show that a firm majority of Israelis no longer trust the Palestinians, and fully agree with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that facilitating the establishment of an independent Palestinian state at this time would be a grave error.
See: Israelis say there can be no ‘Palestinian state’ after Oct. 7
That sentiment was echoed on Tuesday by the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC).
“We are deeply troubled by the Biden administration’s growing pressure on Israel to commit to the creation of a Palestinian state,” read a statement from RJC National Chairman Senator Norm Coleman and Chief Executive Officer Matt Brooks.
They hinted that Biden’s reinvigorated push for a Palestinian state demonstrates that he has not learned the lessons of the current Gaza war, the events that precipitated it, or the fact that even “moderate” Palestinian leaders have failed to condemn the Hamas atrocities.
“Israel has proven its willingness to make peace over and over again. The Palestinians, very much including the Palestinian Authority, have repeatedly rejected efforts to make peace,” read the statement. “The Biden administration’s diplomatic efforts will fail if they are based on a denial of that history and a refusal to admit the catastrophic failings of today’s Palestinian leadership.”
But even if the Palestinian Authority under Mahmoud Abbas wasn’t maintaining a hostile stance toward Israel, now would still be the wrong time to push Israel to commit to Palestinian statehood, the RJC insisted:
“Israelis across the political spectrum are united behind the objectives of eradicating Hamas as a threat to Israel and securing the return of all the hostages. Until those objectives are accomplished, pressuring the Jewish state to make irreversible and potentially perilous long-term diplomatic commitments is a grave failure to live up to America’s proud history of standing with Israel against its deadly enemies.”
