"I think that anyone who is going to establish a Palestinian state today and evacuate lands is giving attack grounds to the radical Islam against the state of Israel. This is the genuine reality that has been created here in the past few years. Those who do not understand that bury their heads in the sand. The left-wing parties do it, bury their heads in the sand, time and again."Immediately the headlines blared "Netanyahu Says No to Statehood for Palestinians." The PLO Negotiations Affair Department even made up an entire quote out of thin air, turning that "Indeed" into the wholly fictional “If I'm elected, there will be no Palestinian State”
The reporter asked, "But if you are the prime minister, a Palestinian state will not arise?"
"Indeed," Netanyahu said.
But that isn't what Bibi said. As he explained days later,
"I haven’t changed my policy. I never retracted my speech at Bar-Ilan University six years ago calling for a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state. What has changed is the reality.Bibi was saying that it is inconceivable that a Palestinian state would come about before the end of his term, because of how Abbas is acting and because a unilateral withdrawal would mean a vacuum that would be filled by radical Islamists. He was just being realistic, not shutting the door.
"Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, refuses to recognize the Jewish state, has made a pact with Hamas that calls for the destruction of the Jewish state, and every territory that is vacated today in the Middle East is taken up by Islamist forces, so we want that to change so we can realize a vision of real, sustained peace."
Now, on Thursday, the Obama administration said essentially the same thing Bibi did:
The White House has made the "realistic assessment" that a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians will not come to pass during the remainder of Barack Obama's presidency, senior administration officials said on Thursday night.When Bibi says it, the world media interprets it as proof of his disdain for peace. When Obama says it, it is wisdom of understanding the reality of the situation.
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