Two-State Solution Is The Only Option For Palestine Even It “Seems Far Away” - Ambassador

By Rosmalis Anuar KUALA LUMPUR, July 20 (Bernama) -- The United States (US) has not done enough to pressure Israel to sit down for a comprehensive peace talk with Palestinians on their right to live in an independent Palestinian state. Even though it’s hard to find common ground to achieve that goal, Palestinian Ambassador to Malaysia Walid Abu Ali said the two-state solution is the only feasible option for ending the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “There is no other option to enable the people in the Middle East to enjoy peace and stability unless the American administration puts pressure on Israel," Walid said when contacted by Bernama regarding US President Joe Biden’s less optimistic statement on the two-state solution. Biden in a press conference after meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas last Friday during his maiden visit to the Middle East that included Israel and the West Bank reiterated that while the US remains committed to the two-state solution but the goal "seems far away". “But at least he (Biden) is trying. He promised to try and although he had said parties are not ready yet to sit down and talk but at least he's trying,” he said. US-sponsored peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis collapsed in 2014 over Israel’s refusal to halt settlement building and release of Palestinians imprisoned before 1993. United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of losing the opportunity for the two-state solution, calling the world leaders to act in accordance with the goal. On this, Walid urged the international community to be fair to the Palestinians as the West was quick to condemn the Russian aggression on Ukraine but had remained mum on the Israeli atrocities on Palestine land. “Palestinians have been suffering for more than seven decades, and we have been victims of the double standards,” he said. The Palestinian President during his meeting with Biden emphasised the foundations and the terms of the peace process through the implementation of the signed agreements and international resolutions in order to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine based on the 1967 borders. Abbas also called on the US to recognise the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital and approve Palestine’s full membership in the UN General Assembly. -- BERNAMA