Obama 'Not Hopeful' on Peace: We Can't Force Israel and PalestiniansFrom his words, his preference is two states at this time because the two sides cannot live together peacefully, not because there is any inherent value in having a state for the Jewish people.
U.S. president says peace was 'not something I was able to get done,' says one-state solution not realistic in light of mistrust.
...Despite his skepticism about progress anytime soon, Obama reinforced his commitment to that prospect.
"There's been talk about a one-state solution or sort of a divided government. It's hard for me to envision that being stable, there's such deep distrust between the two peoples right now," he said. "And the neighborhood is in such a mess that I continue to believe that a two-state solution is the best way. Now, over time that could evolve."
I found the entire context of the remarks. A high schooler who identifies as an Arab-Israeli asked if there wasn't some value in having a bi-national state with, say, and Israeli prime minister and a Palestinian president or vice versa.
Obama says that both sides have their narratives and both sides have a hard time listening to the valid points of the other. This is typical "let's call them equal because it sounds better" thinking. The Israeli media gives plenty of coverage to the Palestinian side of the story, but there is nearly no reciprocation (although some Palestinian newspapers will publish selected Hebrew op-eds translated into Arabic.)
Obama then goes into the demographic issue, with the J-Street talking points. What no one seems to mention is that there is a great deal of daylight between a demographic threat and the Green Line. Israel can remain a democracy, maintain a Jewish majority and annex all of Area C. Maybe they should and tell Obama - hey, you keep talking to us about how terrible the demographic threat is to us and how we cannot remain a democracy (despite the fact that the US has plenty of territory where residents cannot vote in national elections.)
If Area C was Israel's starting point in negotiations, the Palestinians would have a lot more incentive to compromise than when President Obama says that he agrees that the Green Line is the basis for negotiations. Now there is no incentive because the US and EU have declared that the Oslo process to determine borders is really to determine land swaps on either side of the Green Line. (And Israeli politicians haven't helped the cause, either.)
Now the Palestinians don't even have incentive to stop terror attacks, and their polls show that most of them think that terror is the best way to get a state, rather than compromise - which really would get them a state.
But it appears that Obama thinks of even the idea of separate Jewish and Arab states as a temporary measure until the kumbaya moment of both sides realizing that they must live together in peace, where the Jews can peacefully resume their dhimmi status in the Arab world and wait patiently for the next pogrom.
One other part: Obama wants to be the next Jimmy Carter. He ends off saying that after he is no longer president he hopes to continue to impose his naive view of Middle East peace on Israel (he says he will "continue to promote that peaceful dialogue.")
Judging from his words, we know that he will be much more publicly anti-Israel as soon as he leaves office.
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