America
Obama sees creation of Palestinian state sabotaged by Netanyahu remarks
US President Barack Obama has said that "it's hard to
envision" the creation of a Palestinian state after Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent remarks rejecting the idea, and
that the possibilities of a lasting peace right now are "very dim".
"There
still does not appear to be a prospect of a meaningful framework
established that would lead to a Palestinian state," Obama said on
Tuesday at a press conference together with Afghan President Ashraf
Ghani.
Obama recalled that, on the eve of the Israeli elections
last March 17, Netanyahu said about the creation of an independent
Palestinian state "on my watch this is not going to happen."
"I
took him at his word that that's what he meant and I think that a lot of
voters inside of Israel understood him to be saying that
unequivocally," the US president said.
Two days later, Netanyahu
backtracked and said he did indeed want a two-state solution, but that
"under the present circumstances, today, it is unachievable."
Despite
Netanyahu's explanations, Obama said, "there still does not appear to
be a prospect of a meaningful framework being established that would
lead to a Palestinian state. It's not just my estimation, I think it's
hard to envision how that happens based on the prime minister's
statements."
Obama recalled that, up to now, "the premise has
been both under Republican and Democratic administrations that as
difficult as it was, as challenging as it was, the possibility of two
states living side by side in peace and security could marginalize more
extreme elements, bring together folks at the center and with some
common sense we could resolve what has been a vexing issue."
But
because that possibility seems very unlikely right now, it "may trigger
reactions by the Palestinians that in turn elicit counter reactions by
the Israelis and that could end up leading to a downward spiral of
relations that would be dangerous for everybody, and bad for everybody,"
Obama warned.
With regard to his dealings with Netanyahu, he
said he has a "very businesslike" relationship with the Israeli leader, a
term he has also used to describe his relations with Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
"I have met with him (Netanyahu) more than any
otherworld leader. I talk to him all the time," Obama said, "so this
can't be reduced to somehow a matter of let's all hold hands and sing
'Kumbaya.'"