Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated shortly after his recent visit to Israel that Palestinians are to blame for the ongoing occupation of their land.
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“If you look at this whole conflict, to me, the biggest problem has been that Palestinian Arabs have not recognized Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state,” DeSantis said. “That kind of denialism poisons really everything.”
“I don’t think that’s really changed. I think there has been a lot of effort for peace — and they’ve been rejected,” DeSantis said, adding “if you do not respect Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, you are the impediment to peace.”
DeSantis’ comments on the Palestinian people nearly mimicked those of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son in-law and White House adviser. Kushner said in an interview two weeks ago that the Palestinians are not yet capable of governing themselves.
The U.S. governor, who has been a long-time supporter of Israel, also praised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his strong leadership. DeSantis said the U.S. should continue to support Israel has it works towards forming a coalition government under the helm of Netanyahu.
“He’s been a guy who when he came to address the Congress in 2015 really knocked it out of the park,” DeSantis said about Netanyahu.
DeSantis’s visit to Israel comes as the Trump administration prepares to unveil the so-called “deal of the century”, which is supposed to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.