Benjamin Netanyahu Actually Called for a Two-State Solution in 2009
Last week, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was asked if Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supported a two-state solution. Secretary Clinton said, "I don’t think there’s any evidence of that."
In 2009, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech at Bar-Ilan University where he accepted a two-state solution under certain conditions. Netanyahu said:
"Therefore, a fundamental prerequisite for ending the conflict is a public, binding and unequivocal Palestinian recognition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people.
"To vest this declaration with practical meaning, there must also be a clear understanding that the Palestinian refugee problem will be resolved outside Israel's borders."
The main obstacle to peace is the unwillingness of the Palestinians to accept a two-state solution. The Palestinians call the creation of Israel the Nakba, which means "catastrophe" in Arabic.
The Palestinians refer to the 1967 Six Day War as the Naksa, which means "setback."
Later in the speech Netanyahu fully described his vision of a two-state solution:
"Palestinians must clearly and unambiguously recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people. The second principle is demilitarization.
"The territory under Palestinian control must be demilitarized with ironclad security provisions for Israel. . . .
"If we receive this guarantee regarding demilitarization and Israel's security needs, and if the Palestinians recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people, then we will be ready in a future peace agreement to reach a solution where a demilitarized Palestinian state exists alongside the Jewish state.
"Regarding the remaining important issues that will be discussed as part of the final settlement, my positions are known: Israel needs defensible borders, and Jerusalem must remain the united capital of Israel with continued religious freedom for all faiths.
"The territorial question will be discussed as part of the final peace agreement."
After October 7th, I don’t believe anything short of Netanyahu’s demands are possible for a two-state solution. The Palestinians have rejected previous offers for peace and then went to war with the Israelis.
As a rule, in any negotiation, after an offer is rejected, the next offer must be less attractive. If the terms are more attractive after a rejection, it will only be interpreted as weakness and reward further intransigent behavior.
On December 23, 2000, the Clinton administrations presented a proposal to the Israeli and Palestinian delegations that provided the guardrails for a final peace agreement.
The "Clinton Parameters" included the division of Jerusalem, as well as the Old City of Jerusalem, it promised the Palestinians 100% of Gaza, 94 to 96% of the West Bank, an additional 1-3% of land swapped from Israel, and sovereignty over the Temple Mount.
In this agreement, Clinton favored the Israelis by effectively opposing a right of return of refugees into Israel and it gave the Israelis access to the Western Wall.
On December 27, 2000, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s cabinet endorsed the parameters with reservations. In his memoirs, President Clinton clarified that Barak’s reservations were within the parameters while Yasser Arafat’s reservations were not within the Clinton parameters.
According to his memoirs, one of President Clinton’s last conversations with Arafat was contentious. Arafat called him a great man.
President Clinton wrote, "'Mr Chairman,' I replied, 'I am not a great man. I am a failure, and you have made me one'."
Personally, I am grateful for President Clinton’s efforts to help Israel make peace with the Jordanians, the Syrians, and the Palestinians.
Without any trust between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority, the only viable two-state solution in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Bar-Ilan speech.
In the past, Israel has offered two-state peace offers and they were always rejected by the Palestinian leaders.
While Hamas is very clear about how much they want to destroy Israel, Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas always tried to fool Western leaders by pretending to be for peace.
Both Arafat and Abbas supported a right of return of 5 million Palestinian refugees into Israel proper, which would demographically overwhelm the Israelis.
Arafat and Abbas supported this idea precisely because they knew it would end Israel’s Jewish majority. The only viable two-state solution requires a Jewish majority in one state and a Palestinian majority in the other.
In return, Israel should withdraw from Gaza immediately after Hamas and its allies are defeated, the hostages are released, and a legitimately elected Palestinian government can properly assume responsibility.
As Netanyahu said in his Bar-Ilan speech, "In my vision of peace, in this small land of ours, two peoples live freely, side-by-side, in amity and mutual respect.
"Each will have its own flag, its own national anthem, its own government. Neither will threaten the security or survival of the other."
Robert Zapesochny is a researcher and writer whose work focuses on foreign affairs, national security and presidential history. He has been published in numerous outlets, including The American Spectator, the Washington Times, and The American Conservative. When he's not writing, Robert works for a medical research company in New York. Read Robert Zapesochny's Reports — More Here.
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