After two months or so of heartrending violence by Israelis and Palestinians, I think all agree that those who have committed war crimes, from either side, should be punished. Who to blame has long lost any meaning. Each side has its claims, dubious or otherwise.
Most who seek any kind of peaceful settlement often refer to the two-state solution. I don’t think it is antisemitic nor anti-Palestinian to favor placing conditions on part of our foreign aid to these sworn enemies. The conditions should be based on the recipients achieving measurable steps toward a meaningful two-state solution.
Currently, the U.S. provides considerable foreign aid, mainly military, to Israel even as its leader refuses to consider the U.S.-backed preferred solution to the decadeslong conflict. The Palestinian leadership counters with an equally intransigent position.
The U.S. must make both parties accountable. Only the U.S. has the lever to do so — but does Congress have the courage?
