In panning the President Obama's AIPAC speech Scott Johnson of Power Line drew 10 bullet-point conclusions, all quite negative. I quibble with one of them, but I do it on a purely technical basis because the option that I perceive is most likely a non-starter, even with Obama.
4. Obama makes a point of demanding a "contiguous" Palestinian state. Such a state can only come at the cost of a contiguous Israel. A "contiguous" Palestinian state would bisect Israel between Gaza and the disputed territories.
A contiguous Palestinian state would not bisect Israel if it were accomplished by requiring the Palestinians to give up Gaza. How likely is that, and is that what Obama had in mind when he made the demand? Given his apparent surprise at the Israeli response to his earlier epic speech, I doubt it.
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