http://www.muslimpress.com/Section-opinion-72/106637-the-israeli-lobby-dominates-american-british-and-french-foreign-affairs

Muslim Press: Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett has said that “the era of the Palestinian state is over.” What’s your take on this?

Gilad Atzmon: This idea is more than welcome. What we need is one state from the river to the sea and this state will be Palestine. I do not think that we are talking about a political shift but simply facts on the ground.

MP: How do you predict the fate of the two-state solution? How could Trump presidency affect the solution?

Gilad Atzmon: I do not engage in prophecy. The two-state solution is dead and if I am reading the map correctly, the US is not a key player in the Middle East anymore. Putin took their place and this fact may have a significant positive impact on the future of the conflict.

MP: How do you evaluate Donald Trump’s policies towards Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Gilad Atzmon: We are clueless in regard to Trump’s policies. In fact I do not even believe Trump has a Middle East policy. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But as I mentioned above, the US is not a key player in the Middle East. Accordingly, America’s position is hardly relevant. This may change.

MP: Do you think the international community has failed to defend Palestinians rights against Israeli crimes?

Gilad Atzmon: Of course! The question is why. The answer has something to do with the total hegemony of the Jewish Lobby in the West. The Israeli Lobby dominates American, British and French foreign affairs. Even the Palestinian solidarity movement is shy of the topic. Why? Because the Palestinian solidarity movement is also dominated by similar Jewish institutions such as JVP, JFJFP etc. In other words, the voice of the oppressed is shaped by the oppressor and oppressor’s sensitivities.

MP: What role does the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Mahmoud Abbas play in the conflict? Do you see their role as positive?

Gilad Atzmon: I never take sides on Palestinians or Arab political matters. As far as I understand, Abbas believes that Palestine’s ultimate bomb is the demographic bomb. In other words, for the Palestinians to win, all they have to do is to survive. I guess that this explains a lot.