Dutch PM: We have to preserve two-state solution

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says the two-state solution is key to ending the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and should therefore be safeguarded.

Rutte tells a joint press conference with Netanyahu in The Hague that the two leaders talked openly about the conflict, Walla reports. The Dutch PM also expresses his regret at the loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives.

He says that violence cannot lead to a solution, and only highlights the need for a political agreement leading to a Palestinian state side by side with Israel, based on the 1967 borders. Therefore, he says, the world must preserve the two-state solution in every way, which means an end to settlement construction, home demolitions and incitement.