Source: Times of Israel

Continued construction undermines two-state solution, says White House after Jerusalem announces 466 new homes

WASHINGTON, United States — The United States rebuked Israel on Wednesday over what it said was its accelerated building of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank in the face of mounting international concern.

“This significant expansion of the settlement activity poses a serious and growing threat to the viability of a two state solution,” President Barack Obama’s spokesman Josh Earnest said.

“We are particularly troubled by the policy of retroactively approving illegal outposts and unauthorized settlements,” he added, briefing reporters aboard Air Force One en route for China.

The US response came after earlier in the day Israel’s governing body in the West Bank approved the construction of 466 new housing units in a slew of settlements.

Read more: http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-deeply-concerned-by-israeli-settlement-decision/

It's becoming obvious that Israel and its supporters don't want a two-state solution, and there seems to be nobody who is strong enough to challenge them.

The only question is whether the binational state of Israel will award citizenship to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem...

responsibility for the armpit of the Middle-East?

It's much easier to let Israel take care of its own mess - which is what will happen. The occupied territories can't be viable economically without the removal of all the settlements, so a takeover would mean an annual loss of billions of $$$, which seems to be a pretty bad deal to me.

the blame for the disastrous current state of affairs with the OPT falls more or less equally between Israel and the surrounding Arab states. It is not as though Israel's policies were developed strictly of their own accord, out of a singular hatred of Palestinians.

Personally I see no way for Israel to disengage with the OPT in a real, meaningful way, (beyond merely symbolic gestures), without there being some sort of deep involvement by the surrounding, relatively stable, Arab states like Egypt, possibly Lebanon, and most of all, Jordan. The events leading to the plight facing Palestinians in the OPT falls at least as much to them as Israel, yet they have thus far done very little to accept responsibility for, or do anything to mitigate the damage caused by, their past actions.

This is not just "Israel's mess", just as it is not "the Palestinian's problem." It is a regional issue and addressing it as such is the best chance they have of solving it.

Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem than for Israel.

As long as there's a sovereign border that separates them from the mess on the other side of the border, they can just point at the peace treaties and say: - nah, it's not our problem... - just like Israel disavows any responsibility for the Palestinian refugees outside its borders.

I don't think a Palestinian state is even remotely possible - I don't know where, when, how, or even why a Palestinian state. I used to, but Netanyahu has won...

From Jordan's perspective, losing control of the West Bank is just about the best outcome they could have hoped for. Having to negotiate the balance between strict Arab League protocols, finding a best possible outcome for the Palestinians, and their own self-interests was/is all but impossible. They were nearly thrown out of the League for granting Palestinians living in the WB citizenship when it was under their occupation.

Since Arab League policies prioritize hurting Israel over helping Palestinians any Arab state that's truly interested in aiding the Palestinians will find themselves paying a very steep price for trying to negotiate any kind of realistic solution. I recall a minor disturbance in the 70's when Israel sought to replace some of the temporary tent housing in some of the refugee camps with brick structures. The League's issue was that improving the quality of the camps, (especially with long term buildings), removed incentive for Israel to let the refugees return. (The same rationale behind disallowing Arab states from granting citizenship to refugees.) Of course the politically powerful and oil-rich League states forcing these measures were also not ones who were directly dealing with the fallout of their negative impact.

I think there was certainly a time when we were far closer to achieving a real state for the Palestinians. Had Rabin not been murdered; had Arafat been more willing to negotiate at Camp David; had the IDF not begun shooting protesters as a first reaction; had Hamas not begun suicide bombing buses; had Sharon not started incentivizing settlement as an obvious land grab; etc. etc. There was very much a time, not long ago, when it seemed very possible, if not probable.

Just unbelievably disgusting.