There's no way to guarantee Israel's security so long as Palestinians continue to support jihadists

Western leaders, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden, are right that a two-state solution offers the best hope for a long-term peace in the Middle East. But the inconvenient truth is that there’s no viable path to Palestinian self-governance that could guarantee Israel’s security, at least in the near future. And it’s a solution that is rejected by Israelis and Palestinians alike.

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Leaders of the United States, United Kingdom and European Union have been pressing Israel to work toward a lasting peace that would see the creation of an independent Palestinian state, yet this seems to have been rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Speaking at a press conference last week, Netanyahu said that Israel must maintain “security control” over “all territory west of Jordan.” This, he admitted, “clashes with the idea of (Palestinian) sovereignty. What can you do?”

Although White House officials expressed hope that a compromise could be reached, and Netanyahu did not explicitly reject the idea of a demilitarized Palestinian state or a two-state solution that came with security guarantees for Israel, the prime minister doubled down on Sunday, saying, “I will not compromise on full Israeli security control over all the territory west of the Jordan,” and boasting about his record of opposing Palestinian statehood.

Already despised by much of the international community, Netanyahu’s rhetoric has only served to further isolate the Jewish state. And he is walking a fine line by publicly defying Joe Biden, who has been Israel’s biggest supporter and is facing pressure from anti-Israel factions within his own party.

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