As the 3-week-old enters what says could be a new stage, is calling on Israeli and Arab leaders to think hard about their eventual postwar reality.
It鈥檚 one, he argues, where finally finding agreement on a long-sought to the Israel-Palestinian conflict should be a priority.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no going back to the status quo as it stood on Oct. 6,鈥� Biden told reporters, referring to the day before Hamas militants attacked Israel and set off the latest war. The White House says Biden conveyed the same message directly to Netanyahu during a telephone call this past week.
鈥淚t also means that when this crisis is over, there has to be a vision of what comes next, and in our view it has to be a two-state solution,鈥� Biden said.
The push for a two-state solution 鈥� one in which Israel would co-exist with an independent Palestinian state 鈥� has eluded U.S. presidents and Middle East diplomats for decades. It鈥檚 been put on the back burner since the last American-led effort at peace talks collapsed in 2014 amid disagreements on Israeli settlements, the release of Palestinian prisoners and other issues.
Palestinian statehood is something that Biden of his administration. During his visit to the West Bank last year, Biden said the for new attempts to reach a permanent peace even as he reiterated to Palestinians the long-held U.S. support for statehood.
Now, at a moment of heightened concern that the Israel-Hamas war could spiral into a broader regional conflict, Biden has begun to emphasize that once the bombing and shooting stop, working toward a Palestinian state should no longer be ignored.
Until recently, Biden had put far more emphasis on what his administration saw as the achievable ambition of than on restarting peace talks.
Even his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, in a lengthy essay that was written shortly before the Oct. 7 attack and described Biden鈥檚 global foreign policy efforts made no mention of Palestinian statehood. In an posted online, Sullivan wrote that the administration was 鈥渃ommitted to a two-state solution.鈥� White House official also say the normalization talks have always included significant proposals to benefit the Palestinians.
There is no shortage of obstacles in the way of Biden鈥檚 postwar vision. An independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza is viewed as a nonstarter by Israel鈥檚 far-right government. An ineffectual Palestinian Authority controls parts of the West Bank and has little credibility with the population it governs. Meantime, a looming U.S. presidential election could make Biden a less-than-ideal mediator in 2024.
Aaron David Miller, who served as an adviser on Middle East issues to Democratic and Republican administrations, said Biden鈥檚 recent emphasis on a two-state solution was an 鈥渁spirational talking point.鈥�
鈥淭he odds are very, very low,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 essentially mission impossible.鈥�
The call for a two-state solution arose Saturday at the Republican Jewish Coalition summit in Las Vegas, where GOP presidential contenders criticized Biden鈥檚 Israel policy and what they saw as a failure by Democrats to sufficiently condemn antisemitism across the United States. One presidential hopeful, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, said Israel should feel free to abandon 鈥渢he myth of a two-state solution.鈥�
The White House is cognizant that Biden鈥檚 calls for a two-state solution are ambitious and are perhaps not achievable in the near term, according to a White House official who was not authorized to publicly discuss internal deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity. There is also a recognition that the Netanyahu government, facing public backlash for the Hamas attack, is focused on its operations against Hamas and is not giving much consideration to Biden鈥檚 talk of Palestinian statehood.
Still, Biden believes it is important for him and his team to convey 鈥渉ope鈥� and make clear that his administration backs a Palestinian state, the official said.
Dennis Ross, a negotiator in the peace process in both the George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations, said it is important to start planning for down the road even though there is no end in sight for the current conflict.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 go back to the point where you can ignore the Palestinians as an issue,鈥� Ross said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not hopeless. When you get beyond this, it鈥檚 not hopeless.鈥�
The renewed calls for Palestinian statehood also come as Palestinian American groups, Muslim advocacy organizations and that Biden continues to express full-throated support for Israel at a time when the Palestinian death count is mounting and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsening.
鈥淭his is not about someone鈥檚 faith,鈥� said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about finding a future for the Middle East that is more cooperative, more stable, more secure, where Israel鈥檚 more integrated into the region and we鈥檙e not giving up on it.鈥�
Biden has expressed concern about deteriorating conditions for innocent civilians in Gaza. But his insistence that he will not dictate how Israeli forces carry out their operations could complicate his ability to maintain credibility as an evenhanded broker. U.S. Muslim leaders, at a private White House meeting with Biden and top aides this past week, urged the president to call for a cease-fire.
Participants also told Biden that his silence on what they perceive as collective punishment by Israel against innocent Gaza civilians was undercutting his standing with Arab Americans and Muslims, including in states that could have a big impact on the 2024 election.
They also expressed their concern to Biden over his statement that he has 鈥渘o confidence鈥� in the Gaza death count because it is tabulated the Hamas-run Health Ministry. The ministry says more than 8,000 people, mostly women and minors, have been killed in Gaza. More than 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during the initial Hamas onslaught.
Rami Nashashibi, the founder of the Inner City Muslim Action Network in Chicago and a participant in the meeting, said he told Biden that his comments about the death toll in Gaza came off as 鈥渄ehumanizing.鈥� Nashashibi added that he and the other participants told the president that his comments were particularly unsettling because Biden, throughout his term, has demonstrated profound empathy with suffering people.
鈥淚 raised that with him very directly, and others in the room also did so in a way that I think was heard and acknowledged,鈥� Nashashibi said.
The renewed push for statehood could be pointed to by Biden as a sign of his commitment to Palestinian sovereignty. But his handling of the Mideast turmoil is already threatening to be a drag on his reelection prospects in 2024, and any progress that Biden can make toward a two-state solution is likely to require a second term.
Some Democratic Party officials have become concerned his handling of the war could dent Biden鈥檚 and the party鈥檚 standing with Arab American voters as well as a younger voters who polls show have greater sympathy for Palestinian concerns than the party鈥檚 older and more centrist voters.
A senior Michigan Democratic Party official said Biden鈥檚 handling of the war has already emerged in the state as a 鈥渉uge鈥� problem and could become more vexing if the war stretches on and the death toll in Gaza continues to rise. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive party concerns.
Biden was expected to face a tight 2024 race in the state even before the war. He won Michigan by less than 3 percentage points in 2020, and Republican Donald Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the state by 0.3% in 2016. of Middle Eastern or North African ancestry live in Michigan.
鈥淓ven if he鈥檚 hurt to the tune of a few points, he鈥檚 already got a very close race,鈥� said longtime Michigan pollster Bernie Porn .
