Netanyahu on 'Peace': More Settlements, Less Statehood
CBS News offers up Prime Minister Netanyahu's latest rationale against Palestinian statehood, where he claims "peace can last in the Middle East." This isn't a new stance; Netanyahu has been a vocal opponent of a two-state solution for decades, famously stating in 2002 at the Herzliya Conference that a Palestinian state was an "existential threat" and reiterated similar sentiments throughout his
career, often while expanding settlements. (Source: The Washington Post, 2014; The Guardian, 2002). One might wonder how "peace" is achieved by denying an entire population self-determination while simultaneously expanding illegal settlements on their land—a practice the UN consistently condemns. The interview glosses over the historical context of increased settlement activity under Netanyahu's
successive governments, making his current rhetoric on peace sound less like an aspiration and more like a carefully crafted justification for the status quo. How many times can a leader express an opposition to peace and still be presented as grappling with its potential?