Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Yair Lapid on Thursday called for a two-state solution with Palestine to end the decades-long conflict, becoming the first Israeli leader to do so at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in years.
Speaking at the 77th session of the UNGA in New York, Lapid said Israel would strive for peace with the Arab world, including Palestine. “An agreement with the Palestinians, based on two states for two peoples, is the right thing for Israel’s security, for Israel’s economy and for the future of our children,” he emphasised.
He stressed that “peace is not a compromise,” a comment aimed at opposition parties arguing that a two-state solution would undermine Israel's security. “It is the most courageous decision we can make,” the PM stressed.
Noting that “peace is not weakness” and “war is a surrender to all that is bad within us,” Lapid said, “Despite all the obstacles, still today a large majority of Israelis support the vision of this two-state solution. I am one of them.”
He emphasised, however, that a two-state solution is conditional on any future Palestinian state committing to peace. “That it [Palestine] will not become another terror base from which to threaten the well-being, and the very existence of Israel,” Lapid noted.
He declared that Israel would protect its citizens and its right to exist at all times. “If someone believes that demand is too much, then look at the neighbourhood in which we live,” he said, pointing to threats from Hezbollah in Lebanon and the situation in Syria.
Courageous speech by @IsraeliPM @yairlapid at #UNGA supporting the two state solution. Peaceful coexistence is only way forward. As @POTUS urged here in July, “two peoples, with deep & ancient roots in this land, living side by side in peace & security."
— Ambassador Tom Nides (@USAmbIsrael) September 22, 2022
“We want to live in peace but only if it gives us security, not if it threatens us even more. Look at Gaza. Israel did everything the world asked of us, including from this very stage,” he remarked, referring to the dismantling of settlements in Gaza and the withdrawal of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) stationed in the enclave in 2005.
“In less than a year, Hamas, a murderous terror organisation, came to power,” Lapid stated, claiming that Hamas has built an extensive terror network throughout Gaza and launched over 20,000 missiles at Israel.
Against this backdrop, he called on Hamas and other Gazan militant groups to “stop firing rocket and missiles at our children [and] put down your weapons.” “I say from here to the people of Gaza, we are ready to help you build a better life, to build an economy,” the PM proclaimed. “We can build your future together, both in Gaza and in the West Bank,” he further declared.
Lapid’s speech received mixed reviews. While the United States (US) and Lapid’s domestic allies praised his words, the Israeli opposition, led by former PM Benjamin Netanyahu, condemned his support for a two-state solution.
US President Joe Biden congratulated Lapid for his “courageous statement” at the UNGA, saying he “could not agree more” that a two-state solution is the right thing for Israel’s security. US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides also lauded Lapid’s speech as “courageous” and said peaceful coexistence between Israel and Palestine is the “only way forward.”
I welcome @IsraeliPM Lapid's courageous statement at the UN General Assembly: “An agreement with the Palestinians, based on two states for two peoples, is the right thing for Israel’s security, for Israel’s economy, and for the future of our children.”
— President Biden (@POTUS) September 22, 2022
I could not agree more.
Israeli Labor party leader Merav Michaeli praised Lapid for making a “strategic” speech, stressing that Labor would continue to support Lapid’s efforts toward a two-state solution. Meretz leader Zehava Galon called the PM’s statement a “vision of peace.” “Meretz will be on Lapid’s left side in order to turn this vision into a reality, in order to end this cycle of bloodshed and desist from dominating millions of Palestinians, ending years of pain and bereavement on both sides,” Galon noted.
In contrast, Netanyahu said, “The speech exuded weakness, defeat, and bowing of heads,” adding, “Lapid has said in the past that he's willing to evacuate 90,000 Israelis in order to establish a Palestinian state. Now he intends to give them a terror state in the centre of the country, one that will threaten all of us.”
Lapid’s former coalition partner and ex-PM Naftali Bennett also appeared sceptical over Lapid’s comments. “There is no place or logic to re-flood the idea of the Palestinian state,” Bennett said in a Facebook post, noting that the two-state solution compromises Israel’s security.
Prime Minister Yair Lapid, at the UN General Assembly #UNGA:
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) September 22, 2022
"An agreement with the Palestinians, based on two states for two peoples, is the right thing for Israel's security, for Israel's economy and for the future of our children." pic.twitter.com/34sSbgyj2T
Palestinians, meanwhile, said that Lapid’s words were meaningless. Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) member Wasel Abu Youssef told Reuters that unless Israel implements steps in favour of the two-state solution on the ground, Lapid’s speech “means nothing” for Palestinians.
Apart from discussing relations with Palestine, Lapid also discussed the Iran nuclear deal and Israel's growing ties with the Arab world. He called on the international community to exert more pressure on Iran so that it respects the human rights of all. Lapid once again reiterated that the world should never allow a nuclear Iran because such an event would undermine global security.