Support for two-state solution hits 20-year low

Support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at nearly a 20-year low among Americans, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Only 39 percent of respondents in the poll expressed support for a two-state solution, down from 58 percent in 2003, according to a Gallup Poll.


Those in favor of such a resolution still outnumber their opposition — 36 percent of respondents in the new poll expressed outright disapproval of the idea of a Palestinian state. But the percentage of respondents supporting a two-state solution is lower than at any time since 1998.

The result comes at a particularly tumultuous time in the U.S.-Israeli relationship, as support for Israel in the U.S. has taken on an increasingly partisan hue.

The White House and Republicans openly feuded over House Speaker John Boehner’s decision to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to Congress without consulting with the Obama administration in advance.

Then, in the run-up to Israeli elections in early March, Netanyahu declared that there would not be a Palestinian state under his watch, severely hampering the goal of a two-state solution, which has been stated U.S. and Israeli policy for decades.

After the election, Netanyahu walked back his comments, but the White House said his campaign pledge rejecting a Palestinian state would lead to a reevaluation of U.S. policy.

“We cannot simply pretend these comments were never made,” White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough told the left-leaning pro-Israel group J Street.

Boehner told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday that the Obama administration’s treatment of Netanyahu was “reprehensible,” while offering some rhetorical support for the Israeli prime minister’s position.

“How do you have a two-state solution when you don’t have a partner in that solution?” Boehner said, articulating support for a Palestinian state in theory while making clear that he does not see it as possible in the near future.