Just caught this. Ben Rhodes, Obama’s foreign policy guru and deputy national security advisor, in a press gaggle with reporters last week on Air Force One:
“And the fact of the matter is, there’s no more difficult issue in the world. There’s a reason why it has not been solved for decades. But its importance is indisputable to U.S. interest, to Israel’s interest and security, to the Palestinian interest in achieving an independent state.”
Full context:
Q How optimistic are you that Secretary Kerry is making progress in the Middle East versus sort of acting on his own hopes that there will be progress without evidence that there really is?
MR. RHODES: Well, first of all, Secretary Kerry has been very active in the Middle East at the direction of the President. When the President went to Israel and met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, gave a speech in Jerusalem that touched upon the importance of making peace, he then signaled that Secretary Kerry would take the lead on this issue for the administration going forward.
And the fact of the matter is, there’s no more difficult issue in the world. There’s a reason why it has not been solved for decades. But its importance is indisputable to U.S. interest, to Israel’s interest and security, to the Palestinian interest in achieving an independent state.
And what Secretary Kerry has been able to do over the course of the last several weeks is methodically work with both parties to try to bring them closer together so that if they get into a negotiation, it can deal with the core, fundamental issues. And so the point here is what can be done so that if the parties do come back into talks, there’s a chance that those can succeed and that we know that they’re focused on the final status issues that need to be addressed for there to be a resolution. And so we want to make sure that work is done before you would have that type of formal negotiation, and that’s what he’s been doing. And as he indicated yesterday, he believes that the parties have come much closer together, that they have reached, through their discussions with him, a better understanding of what would have to inform talks between Israelis and Palestinians, but he’s going to keep at it. He’ll be returning to the region in the near future.
Q Are Abbas and Netanyahu going to meet?
MR. RHODES: I will leave that to them to announce. I think right now the focus, though, is to figure out a way not just for them to meet, but to make sure that any negotiation addresses final status issues so that it has the potential to actually solve this very protracted issue.
It is “difficult.” It’s difficult because the US enables the zionists in their quest for the destruction of Palestine and the ethnic cleansing of its people. If Rhodes and his boss weren’t puppets for AIPAC, they might find a way to solve that “difficult” issue.
The ‘difficulty’ of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is all Israeli spin because she can’t find an outcome she likes that will let her steal all of Palestine
It’s the same ‘difficulty’ of getting blood out of a turnip
It’s time to cook the turnip up and eat it
“There’s a reason why it has not been solved for decades.”
Why didn’t the reporter follow up with the obvious question asking him to identify that reason? If it really is a singular thing that is holding it up (I know, it’s not) then solving the problem should be easy as making good pea soup.
“There’s a reason why it has not been solved for decades.”‘>>>>>
And we all know what that is—-US Zionist and their many political pressure orgs and activties in the US.
That’s it’s, all the other claptrap surrounding I/P is just claptrap.
The ‘solution’ to Israel and I/P has always been completely obvious and simple.
If Israel wants to remain as a Jewish state it must withdraw to the exact territory UN Res 181 allocated to it and live up to all the other conditions of 181 which would mean restoring to any Palestines and/ or their descendents any property confiscated in the Nabaka.
Adhering to the law isn’t difficult. Tomorrow, with the stroke of a pen, Israel could stop its 65 years of creating illegal facts on the ground and start dealing with how to repatriate all those Israeli citizens now living in non-Israeli territory.