Condi on Israel-Palestine
Scott MacLeod at TIME's Middle East blog notices something buried in Condoleeza Rice's recent testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee:
Condi's specific words to that effect were,
As MacLeod notes, if that window closes, then there's only a one-state solution left, and of the two possible scenarios, it's the Palestinians who have demographic inertia on their side. The fact that the settlements are the greatest existential threat to Israel's own security is hardly new, but with Condi stating it so explicitly, perhaps the "facts on the ground" in terms of the political will to do something about it can begin to change. Let's hope that change doesn't come too late.
In language that seemed a little blunter than usual, she stated categorically, "Israel must stop settlement expansion and remove unauthorized outposts." Palestinian leader Abbas and Arab diplomats have been complaining that Israel's settlement policy essentially is a sign of bad faith going into the peace conference.
The bombshell came in the Q&A afterwards, when she warned that time was running out to negotiate a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Condi's specific words to that effect were,
Our concern is growing that without a serious political prospect for the Palestinians that gives to moderate leaders a horizon that they can show to their people that indeed there is a two-state solution that is possible, we will lose the window for a two-state solution.
As MacLeod notes, if that window closes, then there's only a one-state solution left, and of the two possible scenarios, it's the Palestinians who have demographic inertia on their side. The fact that the settlements are the greatest existential threat to Israel's own security is hardly new, but with Condi stating it so explicitly, perhaps the "facts on the ground" in terms of the political will to do something about it can begin to change. Let's hope that change doesn't come too late.
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