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A two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians could diminish the existential threat posed by Iran, U.S. National Security Advisor James Jones said in an interview aired on the network ABC on Sunday.
The interview aired just over a week before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to arrive at the White House for talks with U.S. President Barack Obama.
Jones was asked whether the U.S. would try to pressure Israel into fully accepting a two-state solution, and interviewer George Stephanopoulos cited a Haaretz report which last week revealed the content of a conversation between Jones and a European foreign minister in which Jones said that "We will not push Israel under the wheels of a bus, but we will be more forceful toward Israel than we have been under Bush"
Jones replied: "I think it means that this administration is going to engage fully. That is to say, using all aspects of the inter-agency process to make sure that the security of Israel is not compromised, that the issue of Palestinian sovereignty also has its place at the table. There are many expectations around the world, in the Arab World and in the European community that we are at a moment where we can make progress with regard to the Middle East."
When the interviewer reminded Jones that Netanyahu has yet to voice support for the two-state solution, Jones said "that was the position of the former government."
"We understand Israel's preoccupation with Iran as an existential threat. We agree with that. And by the same token, there are a lot of things that you can do to diminish that existential threat by working hard towards achieving a two-state solution. This is a very strategic issue. It's extremely important. And we're looking forward to having a good, constructive dialogue with our Israeli friends when they visit Washington in the next seven or eight days," Jones concluded.
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