Obama rules out Palestinian-Israeli peace deal

American President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that he does not see even a “likelihood of a framework [peace] agreement.”

Speaking to Israeli Channel 2 reporter Ilana Dayan at the White House, Obama answered a question about chances for peace talks during his time in office saying: “I don’t see the likelihood of a framework agreement.”

He explained: “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not done enough to explore the politics of hope,” warning that this could make it more difficult for the US to defend Israel on the international stage.

Obama recalled Netanyahu’s remarks during his election campaign that a Palestinian state would not be established during his term.

“Subsequently his statements have suggested that there is a possibility of a Palestinian state, but it has so many caveats, so many conditions, that it is not realistic to think that those conditions will be met anytime in the near future,” he said.

About Iran’s nuclear issue, he said: “I can, I think, demonstrate, not based on any hope but on facts and evidence and analysis, that the best way to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon is a verifiable, tough agreement.”

He added: “A military solution will not fix it. Even if the United States participates, it would temporarily slow down an Iranian nuclear programme but it will not eliminate it.”

“Sanctions won’t do it, a military solution is temporary, the deal we are negotiating will take a nuclear bomb off the table for the next 20 years.”