Obstacles to the two-state solution

The Center for American Progress held a discussion today on "Prospects for a Two-State Solution: Understanding Challenges and Creating Opportunities." Retired Israeli Brigadier General Ilan Paz, former head of the Israeli Civil Administration in the West Bank and Ghaith al-Omari, advocacy director of the American Task Force on Palestine and former adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas spoke on the current outlook and prospects fora peaceful two-state solution between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Both speakers called for policy changes on both sides. Gen. Paz suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will want strong guidelines from the U.S. as the coalition government he will form will most likely be right-wing and oppose a two-state solution. Furthermore, he stated that Hamas is an obstacle to this process, and ideally Abbas will be given an opportunity to create a Palestinian unity government.

al-Omari stated that Israel must allow for more freedom of movement in the Palestinian territories and remove some checkpoints. Furthermore, he believes that while Hamas must be isolated, the people of Gaza should not suffer; humanitarian aid, he stated, cannot be politicized. He believes that on the Palestinian side, there needs to be a new government that is committed to reforms in security and counterterrorism.

Congressmen call for opening Gaza borders

Today, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) held a discussion on their recent trip to Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza strip. They shared footage of the destruction they witnessed and people they spoke to in the Gaza strip. Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) stated, “There clearly is a role for outside help... The United States is not helping enough. We should have been involved in stopping the rockets... The United States could and should be doing more to stop that. The United States could and should be doing more to help with the communication on the reconstructive aid.”

After their trip to the region, the Congressmen are recommending that Israel open the five crossings from Israel into Gaza to allow more transfer of goods and necessities in order for Gaza to rebuild. Rep. Ellison gave two reasons for this recommendation: “If we open up the crossings, we can cut down on the traffic in the tunnels and therefore make sure that nothing goes through those tunnels that will endanger Israeli security, or, by the way, Gazan security... But also, to address the desperate humanitarian conditions we saw in Gaza.” Their conclusion in this discussion was that the cycle of violence is not good for security or prosperity, and that with the opening of the borders, improvements in Gaza residents’ lives would bring pressure against Hamas from its own constituency which it currently does not feel.

American voters show a resounding support for Israel

According to data released by the Israel Project, the majority of American voters support Israel.

The study, which was formulated by Stanley Greenberg, Ph.D Chairman and CEO of Greenburg, Quinlan, Rosner and Neil Newhouse, (partner and co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies), American voters supported Israelis over the Palestinians by a margin of 57 to 8.

"When Americans are asked 'who do you blame for the current conflict in the Gaza strip, by a 56-18 margin Americans blame the Palestinians rather than Israel, with 8% blaming them both," said Neil Newhouse during a teleconference on Voter Attitudes on Israel's Operation in Gaza.

Newhouse went on to address the humanitarian crises in the Gaza Strip, and announced that regardless of who Americans blame for the overall conflict, Hamas leaders are blamed more than Israeli leaders by 66% to 17%.

"The bottom line is that there's enduring support for Israel. There's no evidence that the overall identification and support for Israel has diminished," concluded Greenberg.

Speaker Pelosi comments on the economic recovery package, Israel

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) discussed the economic recovery package and described the advantageous situation Congressional Democrats have found themselves in.

"We have to think differently about this. We've been so used to an uphill fight, but now we have arrived. We have a strong 80 vote majority in the House, we have a Democratic President in the White House," said Pelosi during her first weekly press conference of the 111th Congress.

"His economic recovery package, almost sight unseen, is supported by 79% of the American people, so we have the opportunity to move...not hastily, but quickly. "

The Speaker promised that the details will be dealt with by the appropriate committees in the following weeks and promised that a bill will be drafted before Congress goes into recess.

Pelosi blamed the Bush tax cuts for upper class Americans as the largest contributor to the deficit and stated,

"Put me down, as clearly as you possibly can, as one who wants to have those tax cuts for the wealthiest in America repealed."

The Speaker also touched on the recent situation in Gaza.

"We will have on the floor, hopefully tomorrow, a resolution about what is happening on the Middle East middle east. I spoke with Prime Minister Olmert Saturday... and expressed to him concerns that we have over collateral damage that is happening in the Gaza Strip.

Pelosi went on to say that she still defends Israel's, and the right of any country, to defend itself.

Bolton: Israel could strike Iran

Former UN Secretary John Bolton said that military action against Iran by Israel is a possibility that must be considered by the next administration.

"I don't think there's any doubt that Israel has the political will to use military force against Iran's [nuclear] program," said Bolton during remarks at a Heritage Foundation discussion on Iran and the next administration.

"We know from the bombing of the Osirac reactor outside of Baghdad in 1981 and we know from last September when Israel destroyed that North Korean reactor being built on the banks of the Euphrates river, that confronted with the prospect of a nuclear neighbor Israel, a nuclear enemy nearby, that Israel won't hesitate a strike."

Bolton said that Iran's ability to reach this state portrayed the drawbacks of diplomacy, explaining that the five years Europe spent in negotiation with Iran bought Iran time to develop their nuclear capabilities.

"Negotiation is no different than any other human activity. It has costs as well as benefits and I don't mean monetary costs, I mean opportunity costs."

The former UN Secretary also discussed the risks surrounding the politicization of intelligence and said that the revision of data based on political bias has been a common occurrence. According to Bolton, the 2003 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) that concluded Iran suspended its nuclear program suffered from such bias.

"It was written in a way that was designed to be leaked...the fact that the White House was weak and succumbed to it is no justification for the way that report was put together."

Bolton raised the possibility of ceasing future publication of NIEs.

"If intelligence agencies have data and have analysis that's persuasive, they ought to be willing to put it out in the community of policy makers, not in the New York Times and other publications, but in a classified setting."