O’Rourke on Israeli-Palestinian conflict: ‘We don’t have the best negotiating partners on either side’

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) took aim at negotiators on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Wednesday when asked about the dispute, accusing officials on both sides of being ineffective at securing the support of their allies.

Fox News reported Wednesday that O’Rourke took questions about the issue following an event in New Hampshire, O’Rourke’s first visit to the early primary state since announcing his 2020 bid for the presidency.

{mosads}Calling for a “two-state solution,” O’Rourke charged that both Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian Authority’s Mahmoud Abbas had more to do to bring their respective allies to the bargaining table.

“Right now we don’t have the best negotiating partners on either side. We have a prime minister in Israel who has openly sided with racists,” O’Rourke said, referring to Netanyahu’s support of far-right parties in Israel. “On the Palestinian side, we have an ineffectual leader. Mahmoud Abbas has not been very effective in bringing his side to the table.”

“I believe in peace and dignity and full human rights for the Palestinian people and the Israeli people. The only way to achieve that … is a two-state solution,” he added, according to Fox.

The comments are his most direct about the ongoing dispute since O’Rourke lost his bid to oust Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) last year. Last week, O’Rourke announced that he would join a crowded field of Democrats seeking the party’s 2020 nomination for president and announced the largest single-day fundraising total in the race so far.

On Tuesday, O’Rourke also predicted that Democrats had the opportunity to win his home state, a traditional GOP stronghold, in the 2020 election.

“Yes, I think we can win Texas,” O’Rourke told reporters in New Hampshire. “I think we’ve proven we know how to campaign.”