Republican Senator Lindsey Graham: One-state solution is dangerous
“If you believe in a democratic secure Israel [and] you absorb the Palestinians, they will eventually demographically outvote the Jewish state. So that does not work."
By TOVAH LAZAROFFLindsey Graham, United States Senator (R) from South Carolinaat the 7th Annual JPost Conference(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
A one-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is dangerous, a leading Republican senator said in Jerusalem on Tuesday as he swore his allegiance to a two-state resolution.“A one-state solution, is not sustainable. It is crazy. It will not work,” Sen. Lindsey Graham said at a press conference at the King David Hotel. He spoke at a time when many on the Israeli Right are speculating that US President Donald Trump’s peace plan might not include a Palestinian state.Republican Senator Lindsey Graham discusses one-state vs. two-state solution (Credit: Tovah Lazaroff)But Graham, who is a strong supporter of Israel, and who stands behind the US Embassy move to Jerusalem and Golan sovereignty, said that only a two-state outcome would guarantee a peaceful future.“The goal is to find an acceptable two-state solution,” he said.“If you believe in a democratic, secure Israel [and] you absorb the Palestinians, they will eventually demographically outvote the Jewish state. So that does not work, if you believe in a democratic Jewish state like I do,” Graham said.“If you absorb the Palestinians and they do not vote, that goes back to the days of apartheid, and no one is going to do that,” he added.“I will not invest a dime in a one-state solution. It is folly. It is dangerous... The goal is to find an acceptable two-state solution, that realizes that Israel is never going to do the Gaza thing all over again,” Graham said.Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who also spoke at the press conference, concurred that a two-state resolution was the only way forward.Both men spoke of the importance of maintaining Israel’s security, but would not say if that meant supporting Israel’s retention of the Jordan Valley in any peace deal.Van Hollen spoke against the Trump administration’s decision to cut off financial assistance to the USAID program for the Palestinians.
With regard to Iran, Graham said Israel and the US were working on common redlines with regard to Iran’s nuclear enrichment program.He said he plans to propose in the next few days a regional one-two-three agreement where the Iranians and the Arab countries could have nuclear power plants, but without the capacity to process uranium.“When you don’t make your own fuel, your can’t make a bomb. It is possible to have nuclear power without enriching and reprocessing,” he said.There are 15 states with nuclear power programs, but without fuel production capacity, he said.Van Hollen said they had also visited Turkey, where they warned that the US would not deliver F-35 stealth aircraft unless Turkey halts any plans to accept a delivery of the Russian S-400 air defense system.“We would like to offer Turkey the Patriot missile system for their defense, so we hope they will proceed in that direction,” Van Hollen said.
