Trump Refuses To Back Two-State Solution After Meeting With Netanyahu
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would work to bring about peace between Israel and Palestinians, but it would be up to the parties themselves ultimately to reach an agreement.
“The United States will encourage a peace and really a great peace deal,” Trump said during a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We will be working on it very, very diligently. But it is the parties themselves who must directly negotiate such an agreement,” Trump said.
Trump pointedly refused to endorse a two-state solution to the standoff, a bulwark of American policy for years. Netanyahu repeated familiar Israeli talking points that would prevent establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
“I’m looking at two-state and one-state and I like the one that both parties like. I’m very happy with the one that both parties like,” he said.
“I can live with either one. I thought for a while it looked like the two-state, looked like it may be the easier of the two, but honestly if Bibi and if the Palestinians if Israel and the Palestinians are happy, I’m happy with the one they like the best,” Trump said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
