When Mayor Bill De Blasio was questioned about his opinions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli elections, he was surprised that Netanyahu denounced the two state solution with Palestine, which was always favorable to the majority.
“I was surprised by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s statement about Palestinian statehood. That seems to be a step away from a principle that has been pretty universally acknowledged all over the world as a goal, a two-state solution” Mr. de Blasio said when asked about the Israeli election and whether he was supporting any candidate.
The Israeli Prime Minister recently told the public that there will be no Palestinian state on his watch, because it raises the risk that radical Islam will further increase and spread.
With elections rapidly approaching, Mr. Netanyahu told the Hebrew-language website NRG that establishing a Palestinian state would amount to “giving attack grounds to radical Islam against the state of Israel.” Mr. Netanyahu went on to say he would not allow for the establishment of a Palestinian state while he is in office, according to the Observer.
This is a contrast from Netanyahu’s standpoint in 2009, when he backed the idea of a two-state solution. Netanyahu is trailing in polls and many have speculated that he is looking to gain support from conservative voters.
Mayor de Blasio previously criticized Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, but not the Prime Minister himself. Instead, he chose to admonish the Republicans for initiating the meeting in the first place.
However, today he noted that a mediated two-state solution has been something “everyone has supported” in the United States, across Democratic and Republican administrations.
“Obviously, it’s up to the people of Israel to make their own determination,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment