Ban Ki-moon: Netanyahu Should Renew Its Commitment to Two-State Solution

• 03.21.2015, 17:12
•  Near East,  World

One-state or two-state solution? A question frequently asked during the recent period in Israel. In the pre-election period this was one of the most discussed and argued topics around which almost all parties were building their arguments. However, it was only Netanyahu, whose stance, seemed to have changed in the pre-election period, as he declared that so far as he is the Prime Minister there will not be a Palestinian state – thus in this way rejecting the option of two-state solution.

On March 20 the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, as the Jerusalem Post reports, called Netanyahu to renew its commitment to two-state solution. He also urged the Prime Minister to restart transferring the tax revenue, frozen by Israel, to the Palestinian Authorities. The tax revenues have been frozen since January, after Palestine applied for the membership to the International Criminal Court.

Earlier on March 20, the US President Barack Obama also called Netanyahu to come back to the two-state solution.  In a telephone conversation with Netanyahu President Obama declared that the US will "reassess" its relations with Israel, because of the change in Netanyahu’s stance concerning the two-state solution and stressed the US commitment to it.

However, even before these criticisms and calls, after the elections, when the Likud party headed by Benjamin Netanyahu received the majority of the votes, in an interview given to NBC News, Netanyahu made a statement trying to explain his pre-election position. He particularly said: "I don't want a one-state solution. I want a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution, but for that circumstances have to change."

This is a very interesting statement which both in a way readjusts the situation created after his pre-election statement, when he said no to the two-state solution and also leaves a room for maneuver. "Circumstances have to change" - a statement which means that a two-state solution is very far from being realized, which very likely, was the main reason for concern of Obama and Ban Ki-moon.