WH official says US won’t insist on two-state solution for Israel, Palestine

by Nikita Vladimirov - 02/14/17 8:25 PM ET

A senior White House official said the Trump administration will not insist on a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, the longstanding cornerstone of international peace talks, according to the press pool report.

“A two-state solution that doesn’t bring peace is not a goal that anybody wants to achieve,” the official told reporters. “Peace is the goal, whether it comes in the form of a two-state solution, if that’s what the parties want, or something else. If that’s what the parties want, we’re going to help them.”

The official stressed that the administration will not “dictate” the terms of a potential geopolitical agreement while reiterating that Trump seeks to achieve peace in the region.

{mosads}”We’re not going to dictate what the terms of peace will be,” the official said. “President Trump has very much indicated that he wants to achieve peace.”

Trump is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House Wednesday.

According to the official, Iran will be a major talking point.

The official said the two leaders are likely to address a possible U.S. embassy move — Trump has said he intends to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem — and hopes for the peace process.

“He’s hopeful to bring the two sides together to discuss peace,” the official told reporters about Trump’s intentions.

Securing peace is “a very high priority for the administration,” the official said.

Another topic that will be discussed on Wednesday is the attitude of the United Nations toward Israeli settlements.

“The posture that the U.S. takes at the U.N. under this administration would be to veto anything that is biased against Israel. So we view the vote that took place as biased against Israel,” the official said.

Trump condemned the Obama administration’s decision to abstain from a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory.

According to the pool report, the senior official said that the White House seeks to “usher in a new relationship between Israel and the United States” and is “super excited” about Netanyahu’s visit.

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