Israelis Have No Intention of Giving Palestinians a State: Former US President Clinton
The former US President, Bill Clinton, said that Israel, under Benjamin Netanyahu, stands against the establishment of an independent Palestinian State – a position shared by the US President, Donald Trump.
No Palestinian State
During an interview with The Daily Show, Clinton seemed skeptic about Netanyahu and Trump’s intentions regarding peace in the Middle East.
“They are not talking about negotiating peace in the Middle East because the Israelis have no intention of – under Prime Minister Netanyahu – of giving Palestinians a state. And now they are too divided and crushed to organize themselves to achieve that,” Clinton said.
The former president suggested that Trump shared the same position, but both leaders wanted to avoid a full-scale conflict. “President Trump apparently agrees with that, that they shouldn’t have a state. But you don’t want a disaster either,” he noted.
Iran-Israel Conflict
Clinton added that Netanyahu has used the conflict with Iran to consolidate his power. “And Netanyahu has long wanted to fight Iran because that way he can stay in office forever and ever. He has been there for the most of the last 20 years,” the former US president said.
He noted that Trump should try to “defuse” the situation, stressing that the US have to ensure its Middle Eastern allies that it will protect them. “We got to convince our friends in the Middle East that we will stand with them and try to protect them,” he said.
“But choosing undeclared war in which primary victims are civilians, who are not politically involved one way or the other, who just want to live decent life, is not a very good solution,” Clinton added.
Iran Nuclear Weapon
The former president noted that it is important to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, but without jeopardizing innocent lives.
“Do I think that we have to try to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon? I do. I tried to do that and we had some success. But we don’t have to have all this outright constant killing of civilians who can’t defend themselves. They just want a chance to live,” Clinton said.
