US shift on two-state solution ‘doesn’t make sense’: Palestinians

A senior White House official said on Tuesday the US would no longer seek to dictate the terms of any eventual peace settlement by insisting on a Palestinian state alongside Israel, but would support whatever the two sides agree to together.

US President Donald Trump’s break with decades of support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is irresponsible and does not advance peace, a senior Palestinian said on Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting the US and is slated to have talks with US President Trump. The White House has said that the US will no longer seek a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. (Reuters)

“This does not make sense,” Palestine Liberation Organisation executive committee member Hanan Ashrawi told AFP. “This is not a responsible policy and it does not serve the cause of peace.

“They cannot just say that without an alternative,” she added.

On Tuesday, a senior White House official said the United States would no longer seek to dictate the terms of any eventual peace settlement by insisting on a Palestinian state alongside Israel, but would support whatever the two sides agree to together.

The comments came on the eve of White House talks between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“A two-state solution that doesn’t bring peace is not a goal that anybody wants to achieve,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

“Peace is the goal, whether that comes in the form of a two-state solution if that’s what the parties want, or something else if that’s what the parties want.”

For the better part of half a century, successive US governments -- both Republican and Democrat -- have backed a two-state solution.

Trump has yet to speak directly to the Palestinian leadership since taking office last month.