Claudia Tenney, a New York Republican, recently returned from Israel where she met with a handful of Arab sheikhs who are against a two-state solution.
Anyone else is backing the wrong horse, she told show host Jody Hice.
“The two-state solution is, to me, dead. It should not be advanced, and it is wrong-headed of France and other nations who are actually coming to the U.N. to talk about this,” she said.
French President Emmanuel Macron in late July stated that his country will formally recognized the “State of Palestine” at the United Nations General Assembly in New York later this month.
Belgium, United Kingdom, Canada, Malta and Australia have announced similar intentions, though some with political conditions attached.
Ireland, Norway, Spain and Slovenia formally recognized a Palestinian state in 2024.
A total of 17 countries have either recognized or announced forthcoming recognition of Palestine since the Gaza conflict began, including those in Europe, Australia, and others.
France’s recognition is significant as the first major Western Power within the G7 group to do so.
“We need to start talking about one Israel that is united and as the only democracy in the Middle East. It is the only place where every person that lives in Israel that is a citizen, has rights to vote, has rights to everything that you would have to be a peaceful and prosperous nation, only to be ruined by this concept of the Palestinian Authority … which has just proven it hasn't worked,” Tenney said.
Tenney and the sheikhs with whom she met are on the same page.
Sheikh Wadee’ al-Jaabari and four other prominent Arab sheikhs from Hebron, the heart of biblical Judea, signed a letter earlier in July declaring their desire to sever ties with the Palestinian Authority and establish a self-governing emirate. The Sheikhs say it’s time to recognize Israel, cooperate with the Jewish state, with hopes of peace, security and jobs in return.
“This is beyond an offer of peace. It is a political and ideological earthquake,” wrote Avi Abelow for Jewish News Syndicate.
“For decades we’ve been told that there is a “Palestinian people” with national rights and historic claims to the land. We’ve been told their dream is to establish an independent state, that ‘Palestine’ is their destiny, that justice demands its creation.
“Yet now, Arab Muslim tribal leaders from Hebron—the largest Palestinian city in Judea and Samaria—are openly admitting the truth: They don’t want a Palestinian state,’” Abelow wrote.
“They don't want the Palestinian authority. They want to actually have Israeli security,” Tenney said. “They want to live in peace and prosperity with their neighbors, whether they're Jewish or Christian or other Muslims, and they want to see the opportunity for the world and for their children and their grandchildren.”
Israel Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich last week revealed that maps are being drawn large swaths of occupied Judea and Samaria. The plan aims for “maximum territory and minimum (Palestinian) population,” Smotrich said. It impacts 82% of the territory but excludes key Palestinian population centers like Ramallah and Nablus, The Times of Israel reports.
For European actions, an Israeli reaction
The move is a direct response to the pressure applied by so many Western countries intent on recognizing a Palestinian state, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week.
“We told them that it would lead to these sorts of reciprocal actions, and it would make a ceasefire harder,” Rubio said.
Tenney has introduced legislation that would require all U.S. official communication to refer to the region as Judea and Samaria, not the West Bank, the preferred moniker for those who support a two-state solution.
“It’s excellent that Marco Rubio is allowing these annexations to happen at this point,” she said. “This is just Israel making sure that it's taking control over the region that is its native homeland, Judea and Samaria.”
