Europe’s consistent support for the Palestinian Authority has been based on the understanding that it would lead to the creation of a viable Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. This support was encouraged over the past six years on the basis of Benjamin Netanyahu’s 2009 speech at Bar-Ilan University which gave the impression that he was willing to seriously negotiate with the Palestinians on the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The Israeli prime minister’s recent dramatic pronouncement during the elections that he no longer supports the creation of a Palestinian state, following the likely formation of a right-wing Israeli government, raises questions about the relevance of European policy in the area.
Does this statement necessarily spell the death of the two-state solution? Should the Palestinian Authority be shut down in preparation for the inevitable single, binational state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean?
