On Wednesday, President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House for the beginning of a series of meetings intended to restore relations between the two ally countries. The alliance of the two is after eight years of an Obama administration that emboldened the tyrannical regime in Iran while simultaneously was found to be working against the reelection of the beloved Israeli leader.
Among the issues on the table is the same ongoing struggle between the Palestinians and the Jewish people over disputed Middle Eastern territory and what a workable solution can finally look like. Regarding his preference for a one or two-state solution, President Trump stated, "So I'm looking at two-state or the one-state. I was thinking for a while that the two-state was looking like the easier of the two." He summed up his point by saying, "I'm happy with the one they like best."
A one-state solution, which would functionally be somewhat similar to the current system employed in the Nation of Israel, would include Palestinians and Israelis in a single country with equal citizenship. There have Muslim members of the Knesset over the years since the inaugural elections in 1949.
The two-state solution would entail a negotiated settlement leading with a Palestinian nation coexisting alongside Israel which was the desired American policy under both the Bush and Obama administrations.
Trump ruffled some feathers in the Jewish community when he declared to Netanyahu during the press conference that, "I'd like to see you hold back on settlements for a little bit. We'll work something out, but I would like to see a deal be made." To reiterate, this press conference was held prior to any actual discussions on the new administrations' position going forward.
The diplomatic Netanyahu didn't himself seem affected by the statement and expressed his willingness to work with the new administration, "so we don't keep on bumping into each other all the time."
The two heads of state also discussed counter-terrorism efforts and referred to the often criticized Iran nuclear deal put in place by the Obama administration. Iran recently conducted a ballistic missile test in violation of a United Nations resolution while claiming that they had verbal authorization from the outgoing Obama Administration.
Ultimately, the Israelis have been failed by many in the international community who believe a Palestinian state should be established in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. A Palestinian State connecting The West Bank and Gaza would effectively cut Israel into two parts and make an already difficult national defense situation even more difficult.
Israeli Border Maps - Credit: http://3.bp.blogspot.com
Trump made the point that a major roadblock to peace is that the children of Palestine are 'taught to hate.' "I think the Palestinians have to get rid of some of that hate that they're taught from a very young age," Trump said. "They're taught tremendous hate. I've seen what they're taught. And we can talk about flexibility there too, but it starts at a very young age, and it starts in the school room. And they have to acknowledge Israel. They're going to have to do that. There's no way a deal can be made if they're not ready to acknowledge a very, very great and important country."
The world awaits the results of this important series of meetings in hopes that by some divine miracle there can finally be some positive progress in what seems to be the never-ending saga of Holy Land.
What is your solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Let us know in the comments section below.
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