In his address to the AIPAC National Policy Conference today, Prime Minister Netanyahu made his most compelling case yet to an American audience for a two-state solution.
Pledging to work with the US and the Palestinians to “forge a durable peace” based on “mutual recognition,” the prime minister declared, “Peace would be good for us. Peace would be good for the Palestinians” and peace would “catapult the entire region forward.”
Netanyahu acknowledged that “many Arab leaders today already realize that Israel is not their enemy, that peace with the Palestinians would turn our relations with them and with many Arab countries into open and thriving relationships.”
The prime minister expressed ongoing concern over security. As details of the agreement are still being negotiated, US General John Allen is working with Israel to develop unprecedented security arrangements as part of a comprehensive peace agreement.
None of this will be easy. It will require more than speeches in Washington. Painful decisions will need to be made in order to reach a compromise that is acceptable to both sides. We welcome the prime minister’s statement today that he is “prepared to make an historic peace with our Palestinian neighbors that would end a century of conflict and bloodshed.” And we hope to see actions consistent with this statement in the weeks and months ahead.
In the coming days, Netanyahu and Secretary of State Kerry should know that pro-Israel Americans will stand with them as they make the tough choices necessary to ensure that, as the prime minister promised, “Israel’s best days are ahead.”