Senate resolution hails new talks on two-state solution

WASHINGTON — Hours after the opening round of peace talks concluded in Washington DC, Capitol Hill sprang into action, with Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introducing a Senate resolution commending Secretary of State John Kerry for jumpstarting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and calling on negotiators to focus on a two-state solution to ensure a secure, lasting peace.

The resolution was co-sponsored by Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.). One day earlier, on Monday, Kaine took the reins of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Mideast Subcommittee.

“Resolving the longstanding conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis is in the fundamental interest of the United States,” Feinstein wrote in a statement Tuesday evening. “Secretary Kerry’s efforts to get both sides to the negotiating table have paid off, but negotiators will need to make very difficult decisions over the next nine months to reach a lasting two-state agreement. This resolution affirms the Senate’s support for the diplomatic process, which I believe is the only way to reach an agreement that ensures Israel’s survival as a democratic state and fulfills the legitimate desire of the Palestinian people for a state of their own.”

In the resolution introduced on Tuesday, the senators declared that “a two-state solution is the only outcome to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which can ensure the State of Israel’s survival as a secure, democratic homeland for the Jewish people, and fulfill the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for a state of their own.”

The resolution, which must still be approved by the Senate, also argued that the “achievement of a two-state solution that would enhance stability and security in the Middle East is a fundamental United States security interest.”

The resolution would reinforce the Senate’s support for US-brokered negotiations toward a final status agreement.”