Attacks in West Bank Highlight Futility of Two-State Solution: Expert

Last week, an Israeli civilian was killed and several were left wounded after a Palestinian terrorist shot at cars around the Maale Adumim settlement. In response to the attack, Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, announced that over 3,000 housing units would be built in the West Bank, also known by their biblical names of Judea and Samaria. This decision, however, seems to have sparked further controversy.

As The Jerusalem Post reported, other than a short period of time during the Trump administration, “Israeli settlements in the West Bank have almost always been a thorn in the relations between Israel and the U.S.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken has already condemned the construction initiatives. He stated that he’s “disappointed” because “settlements are counter-productive to reaching an enduring peace” and “inconsistent with international law.” He added that the Biden “administration maintains a firm opposition to settlement expansion,” holding the belief that the settlements “only weakens … Israel’s security.”

Some have pointed out that Blinken’s comments, as well as Biden’s developing stance on the issue, are the opposite of “the Trump administration’s view in 2019, which did not consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank as inconsistent with international law.” But as Family Research Council President Tony Perkins pointed out on “Washington Watch” Monday, the Biden administration has only widened the “divide between the U.S. and our strategic ally Israel.”

In addition to that statement, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said that the claim Blinken made during Friday’s press conference, that Israel’s decision was inconsistent with international law, was simply “not true.” He stated that Blinken’s belief implies “the Jewish people have no right to live in their biblical homeland.” And ultimately, “It really is just a gut punch to those who take a theological view to biblical Israel.” And “people need to know,” Perkins added, “when you hear this term ‘West Bank,’ we’re talking about everything we read about in the Bible.”

But aside from the biblical significance, Friedman highlighted that “Biden’s been nothing but difficult on some of Israel’s most important issues.” For instance, Biden has pushed for a two-state solution, Friedman pointed out, “which nobody in Israel wants. … [N]obody with half a brain should want.” In the past, when a two-state solution was in place and the Palestinians in Gaza were self-governing, Perkins noted that “all they did was focus on how they could attack Israel.”

Not to mention that the people in Gaza “have yet to denounce the October 7th attacks on Israel,” Perkins said. As a matter of fact, the Palestinian National Authority (PA) “has a pension system … where they award funds to terrorists … based upon the severity of the terrorist attack,” Friedman explained. In short, “The more Jews you kill or wound or maim, the more money you get as a pension,” he said. “And this goes on to this day.” In other words, Perkins explained, “the PA is just hostility by another name.”

Biden’s agenda for Israel, Friedman argued, would only lead to “another terrorist state and another October 7.” Perkins agreed, adding, “It would not even be kicking the can down the road, because we know exactly what’s going to happen with this setup. They regroup and they attack again.” To which Friedman concluded, whether it’s a two-state solution or ceasefire the administration is pushing, “It’s just a terrible idea on many fronts.”

AUTHOR

Sarah Holliday

Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

---