Democratic Majority for Israel President and CEO Mark Mellman released the following statement today following the introduction of the so-called Two-State Solution Act in the House:
“Democratic Majority for Israel strongly supports and advocates for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, which can only be achieved through direct bilateral negotiations.
“But this one-sided Two-State Solution Act seems less about actually achieving a two-state solution and more about rewriting history — both ancient and modern — and stirring up anti-Israel hostility.
“The bill wrongly blames Israel alone for the failure to achieve a two-state solution. The reality is that Israel has offered Palestinians — and Palestinian leaders have refused — a state of their own on several occasions. In fact, President Clinton said, ‘I killed myself to give the Palestinians a state. I had a deal they turned down…’ Refusing to acknowledge or come to grips with that history actually hampers progress toward a two-state solution.
“As president Biden has clearly said, ‘Until the region says, unequivocally, they acknowledge the right of Israel to exist as an independent Jewish state, there will be no peace.’
“Following from this misattribution of responsibility, the Two-State Solution Act makes a number of demands of Israel and calls for restrictions on U.S. support for Israel, but it makes zero demands of the Palestinians.
“The legislation ‘encourages’ the Palestinians to ‘reform’ — but not to simply stop — their practice of pay-to-slay, through which special payments are made to terrorists and their families. It does not ask the Palestinian Authority to stop inciting violence; it does not condemn Hamas for firing more than 17,000 rockets at Israel in recent years; it does not demand that Hamas disarm or even stop manufacturing missiles; it does not recognize that Gaza and the West bank are politically divided with no authority speaking for both entities; contrary to President Biden’s position, it does not demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state; it does not demand Hamas return the bodies (living and dead) of Israelis it is holding hostage; and it does not demand that the Palestinian Authority cease its attempt to prosecute Israel at the International Criminal Court, which the U.S. has recognized as an impediment to peace.
“This legislation is counterproductive, one-sided, and bad policy.”
###