Lapid: Palestinian statehood not dead, but Oct. 7 delays possibility of two-state solution

Opposition chairman Yair Lapid says the possibility to establish a Palestinian state is not dead, but a two-state solution has been “postponed” due to Hamas’s terror onslaught on October 7.

The remarks in a recent interview appeared to be one of the first times an Israeli lawmaker has spoken about the idea of a two-state solution since October 7 without dismissing the formula outright, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has done.

“I think what has happened has postponed the possibility of the two-state solution, of the Palestinian state, and I say this as a supporter of the two-state solution,” Lapid tells The Majalla, a Saudi-owned Arabic magazine based in London.

“For years, those of us who supported a Palestinian state always said, ‘We need to make sure that we have the security measures that Israel needs to make sure that our people are safe and sound,'” he explains.

“But the whole concept of what security for our people is changed on October 7,” Lapid continued.

“Unlike the PLO or the PA, Hamas was never for the two-state solution… and they’re doing everything in their evil power to postpone this thing.”

“I don’t think the idea is dead. I think it will be delayed significantly because we need to find ways to secure the safety of our people,” Lapid says.

Some highlights (question and answer) from my exclusive interview with Israel’s opposition leader and former PM Yair Lapid @yairlapid , in his office at the Knesset. pic.twitter.com/WVgAdNA5gt

— ahmed maherأحمد (@amaherYAH) December 21, 2023