In an interview with Fox News’ Megyn Kelly, newly re-elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he did not switch positions prior to the election on the possibility of a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.
He said that he still calls for a “better solution in which a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizes a Jewish state,” but that such a deal is simply unachievable today.
“I didn’t retract any of the things I said in my speech six years ago calling for a better solution in which a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizes a Jewish state,” Netanyahu said. “I said that the conditions for that, today, are not achievable for a simple reason: Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinians, rejects consistently the acceptance of a Jewish state. He’s made a pact with the Palestinian terrorist organization, Hamas, that calls for our destruction. And the conditions in the Middle East have changed to the point where any territory we withdraw from is immediately taken up by Iranian-backed terrorists or by ISIS."
He continued, “So the conditions are that, we would vacate territory, and instead of getting the two-state solution, we could end up with a no-state solution.”
“That is a solution that would threaten the very survival of Israel,” Netanyahu said.
“I said we have to change the terms,” he explained. “Because right now, we have to get the Palestinians to go back to the negotiating table, break their pact with Hamas, and accept the idea of a Jewish state. And I think that’s what the international community should be focused on.”
His remarks come only days after he allegedly rejected the creation of a Palestinian state altogether in an interview with the Israeli news site, NRG.
When asked, “If you are prime minister, there will be no Palestinian state?” Netanyahu reportedly replied, “Indeed.”
He went on to explain,
"Anyone who is going to establish a Palestinian state, anyone who is going to evacuate territories today, is simply giving a base for attacks to the radical Islam against Israel.”
“This is the true reality that was created here in the last few years," Netanyahu said.
Did he flip-flop on his position? Or were his words simply taken out of context? Watch the Kelly File interview below and decide for yourself.