WASHINGTON—In his address to the annual policy conference of his organisation, Howard Kohr, head of AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the largest pro-Israel advocacy group in the U.S. told the 18,000 attendees that everyone must work “toward that future: two states for two peoples. One Jewish with secure and defensible borders, and one Palestinian with its own flag and its own future,” he said.
He added that “today, that dream seems remote. This is tragic.”
Kohr blamed the Palestinian leadership for avoiding direct talks with Israel, saying that “peace begins by talking” and lamented that “it has been nearly eight years since Palestinian Authority President Abbas has had direct talks with an Israeli prime minister.”
Kohr declared that “there is no substitute for direct negotiations” and “there are no short cuts to peace. You can’t do it through the United Nations, not through the European Union and not through Moscow.”
Reports last week suggested that theTrump administration’s possible peace proposal includes a call for a demilitarized Palestinian state with its capital in eastern Jerusalem. However, it remains unclear whether or not the peace plan will move forward given its strained relations with the Palestinians.