PLO official: Alternative to two-state solution is 'painful bloodshed'
Palestinian terror groups Hamas, PFLP also condemn Trump for saying two-state solution is not the only option to resolving the Mideast conflict.
By YASSER OKBI/ MAARIV HASHAVUA, JPOST.COM STAFFUpdated: FEBRUARY 16, 2017 17:17Palestinians hold flags and posters depicting PA Mahmoud Abbas during a rally in Bethlehem (photo credit: REUTERS)
As the Arab world and the Palestinian Authority have derided US President Donald Trump's lack of adoption of the two-state solution as the sole prospect for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A representative of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) said on Thursday that "the alternative to a two-state solution is painful bloodshed." "This will not lead to the disappearance of a Palestinian state, and will not lead to the crushing of the prospect of a Palestinian state," PLO spokesman Nasser al-Kidwa said at a press conferences in Ramallah.The PLO official equated rejection of the two-state solution with the outright rejection of the peace process in general.Meanwhile, Hamas accused the US policy shift as representing the new White House administration's disregard for the Palestinians, and called for the Palestinians to unite in the "struggle" against the "challenges facing them."PLO faction the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) also addressed the matter, charging that the developments marked an attempt by Trump and Netanyahu "to destroy the Palestinian issue."The group, which is considered a terrorist organization by Israel along with the US, Canada, the EU and Australia, also called for the Palestinian Authority to cancel its commitment to the Oslo Accords and its recognition of Israel.In the first official state meeting between Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday in Washington, the US president said the two-state solution was not the only option for resolving the conflict.“I’m looking at two states and one state. I am very happy with the one that both parties like," he said. "I thought for a while the two-state might be easier to do, but honestly, if Bibi [Netanyahu] and the Palestinians, if Israel and the Palestinians are happy, then I am happy with the one they like the best."His goal, Trump explained, was peace, and in its pursuit, he was not wedded to one solution or the other.“I would like to see a deal be made,” said Trump. This would not be a deal for a two-state solution, but a deal for peace, with or without a two-state solution.
Following Trump's remarks on Wednesday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that he is still committed to the two-state solution and is prepared to work with the new US administration, according to a statement from the PA president’s office.The Palestinian leadership considers settlement construction the primary obstacle to peace, whereas the Israeli government holds that Palestinian incitement and refusal to accept Israel as a Jewish state is the main impediment to peace.Tovah Lazaroff and Adam Rasgon contributed to this report.