During an Aug. 24, 2022, State Department press briefing, deputy principal spokesperson Vedant Patel said, “There are no shortcuts for Palestinian statehood outside direct negotiations between the parties.” The State Department website doesn’t outline the requirements for recognizing statehood, stating only that the U.S. supports a “negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
The U.S. will accept a Palestinian state only when Israel does. Yet Prime Minister Netanyahu is boasting about personally denying Palestinian statehood; Bibi is loudly guaranteeing that a free Palestine will never exist.
Israel controls all aspects of Palestinian life, even before Oct. 7 — so how could America expect a negotiated settlement to come from such a skewed situation? Refusing to recognize Palestinian statehood while backing Israel to the hilt belies American proclamations of unwavering commitment to the two-state solution.
Let me be clear: Israel has no right to statehood, and Israelis have no right to that land which Palestine and Palestinians do not share. Palestinian statehood is not the last step on the path to peace; it is the first.
Support a cease-fire now, and support Palestinian statehood now.
