The Palestinian Voices Blinken Won't Hear

by Khaled Abu Toameh 

• The renewed talk about a "two-state solution" comes amid a significant increase in the popularity of Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group whose charter openly calls for replacing Israel with an Islamic state. It also comes at a time when Abbas's popularity is at its lowest ebb.
• The Palestinians are telling Blinken that he is wasting his time if he thinks that they would accept "so-called peaceful solutions" or "renounce any part of Palestine." They are also sending a warning to Abbas that recognition of Israel's right to exist and acceptance of the "two-state solution" is tantamount to treason, a crime punishable by death.
• Abbas is afraid that Hamas will try to stage a coup against the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.... Abbas, however, does not feel comfortable talking about the Palestinians' two rival entities, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and prefers to continue pretending that the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel is still a realistic option.
• As long as Israel maintains overall security control over the West Bank, Abbas can feel safe sitting in his office or at home in Ramallah. It is only Israel's presence in the West Bank that is keeping him in power and preventing Hamas from extending its control beyond the Gaza Strip.
• A recent public opinion poll showed that 57% of the Palestinians are opposed to the two-state solution. Another 57% said they support the "armed struggle" and "popular resistance" against Israel. According to the poll, 68% of the Palestinians want Abbas to resign.
• Blinken needs to go out and talk to ordinary Palestinians. There, he will get a good grasp of the Palestinians' profound anti-Israel sentiments and their deep support for Iran's proxies and others who wish to wipe Israel off the map.

In the past few weeks, thousands of Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank have been demonstrating in support of Hamas, especially after it fired thousands of rockets and missiles at Israel. Pictured: A crowd of Arab men wave Hamas flags on May 21, 2021, in Ramallah. (Photo by Abbas Momani/AFP via Getty Images)

On the eve of his first official visit to the Middle East, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed support for a two-state solution as the only way to provide hope to Israelis and Palestinians that they can live "with equal measures of security, of peace, and dignity."

During his visit to Israel and the West Bank, Blinken is expected to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who has been urging the Biden administration to work toward "achieving a just and lasting peace that would ensure the Palestinian people's right to freedom and independence" and the establishment of a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.

The renewed talk about a "two-state solution" comes amid a significant increase in the popularity of Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group whose charter openly calls for replacing Israel with an Islamic state. It also comes at a time when Abbas's popularity is at its lowest ebb.

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