Netanyahu's rejection of 2-state solution will be his undoing, says former justice minister
‘This democracy will demand the prime minister to resign,’ says Yossi Beilin
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to cling to power by appeasing the far-right members of his coalition government, says former Israeli justice minister Yossi Beilin.
But it's a tactic that Beilin says will backfire as he predicts Netanyahu will lose the support of his western allies, and the Israeli public.
In a nationally-televised news conference on Thursday, Netanyahu declared that the so-called "two-state solution" for peace between Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East is dead.
It's far from the first time the prime minister has rejected calls for Palestinian statehood. But his latest comments, more than 100 days into the Israel-Hamas war, have drawn the ire of Israel's allies, including Canada and the U.S.
The remarks also come as Israel defends itself at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against allegations of genocide in Gaza.
Beilin is a former Israeli member of parliament and cabinet minister with the Labour and Meretz Parties. He helped negotiate the Oslo Accords, failed peace agreements that hinged on a two-state solution, in the 1990s when Netanyahu was leader of the opposition. Here is part of his conversation with As It Happens host Nil Köksal.
Is the idea of a two-state solution dead?
Oh, no. It is the only idea that can save Israel.
I don't understand why Netanyahu had to say this…. It means Netanyahu's government is not a partner for peace.
Benjamin Netanyahu has said these words before — many, many times before, over the years — so it's certainly not a secret that this is where he stands. He's long opposed a two-state solution.
He's said many things.
He appeared in the UN General Assembly [in 2013 and 2016] in support of the two-state solution. He supported the Trump plan four years ago, which speaks about a two-state solution.
So he is changing his mind. At the beginning, it was against. Then he changed. And now he is against. God knows exactly what his calculation is.
He's certainly an experienced politician. He knows what he's saying and why he's saying it at that moment. But we have a situation where there's the ICJ case. His allies are disagreeing with him increasingly.... So what is the benefit of saying this right now, at this moment, in this conflict?
He wants to continue to be a prime minister. In order to continue this function, he needs a coalition. He has a small coalition of 64. It includes the extreme, extreme, extreme right in Israel. We never had such a government before. And he is dependent on them.
It was apparently important for him, much more than to keep the coalition with the West and especially with the United States.
What do you think it will translate into in terms of what is happening on the ground, though?
Just a few weeks ago, he said that he must remain in power. Why? In order to prevent a Palestinian state. Only he, so he said, can do that.
So this became his main electoral campaign slogan: I will prevent a Palestinian state.
I don't believe that this is a vote-getter, necessarily. But if you see the public opinion polls in the last year, even before October the 7th, he is down and down and down.
So he's quite desperate, apparently.
But he's not going to lose power anytime soon, from what we've seen. It's been months since our last conversation, and he's still prime minister.
It will not happen suddenly. It will happen only if there are demonstrations, which I believe is around the corner, which will call upon him to resign.
We spoke to the father of one of the hostages still being held earlier this week, and he said he wants to see Netanyahu's government focus on more diplomatic efforts to bring these hostages home. Can statements like what we just heard from Benjamin Netanyahu actually help bring peace or help bring these hostages home? Why would he say that when those things are on the line?
God knows.
I think that because he is desperate. He understands what is happening.
He was the prime minister for decades. And if something like [the Oct. 7 Hamas attack] happened to us, which was really a total surprise, he is to be blamed for it. And he will pay the price. He will not be the prime minister in the new future.
Could there be real consequences for Netanyahu and Israel in terms of the partnership with Western allies, such as Canada, because of what he said?
The consequences may be the bitterness of relations between the White House and Netanyahu's government.
On October the 7th, [U.S. President Joe] Biden decided to support Israel … despite his attitude towards Netanyahu. And now, I think that it would be more difficult for him to support Israel … because of what [Netanyahu] said.
But it is also because he did not believe that [Israeli's military] campaign would continue for such a long while, and that the victims in Gaza would be so many.
Is there something that the Biden administration or other Western allies of Israel could and should be doing, in your view, to actually bring peace now?
Yeah, not to give up on the two-state solution.
Do you believe that this government's intention is to push Palestinians out of Gaza entirely?
No, no. This is not serious. I mean, there are some idiots in the government who say so, but they are a marginal group. Israel will never do that. And Netanyahu is not for it. This is not serious.
What kind of impact might Netanyahu's comments have on Israel's defence still unfolding at the International Court of Justice against the allegations of genocide? Could those comments affect that case?
I don't know about the International Court of Justice. But I know that one of the problems that we are having is that since Oslo ... there is no horizon of peace for the Palestinians and for the Israelis. And the frustration is very big.
[Gazans] are not allowed to work in Israel because of security. So the combination of lack of [peace on the] horizon, and of unemployment, is very dangerous, security-wise, for Israel.
When we spoke in October, you told us most people there, most Israelis, are ready for exactly what you're talking about — peace on the horizon, a two-state solution. But does it matter that most people are ready for it, if none of those people are in control right now?
Yes, it is very important because you see what happened in Israel lately. I mean, after the protests against [Netanyahu's judicial reform], the government backed off.
Because of that, I believe that the Israeli democracy proved itself as a very, very important power. And nobody will dismiss it or ignore it in the near future. And this democracy will demand the prime minister to resign. And he will do that.
Netanyahu describes Israel as controlling all territory west of the Jordan River. Some other interpreters have used the English expression, "from the river to the sea," when translating his remarks. What does it signal to you ... that he would invoke that expression?
Both extreme sides are saying it. The Palestinians are saying "from the river to the sea" and they demonstrate with this slogan. And now, Israelis are saying it — which means zero-sum game. It's either you or me.
And those who say that it is a zero-sum will bring upon us, God forbid, a disaster. A disaster for both peoples.
Interview produced by Chloe Shantz-Hilkes. Q&A edited for length and clarity
