U.S. National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien said on Wednesday that Israeli settlements would continue to grow because of rising anti-Semitism worldwide, meaning that more Jews would immigrate to Israel.
“This could be the last opportunity for a two-state solution,” he said at the Meridian International Center, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., according to an AP report.
“The Israeli birthrate is strong and is growing because sadly, anti-Semitism in Europe and other places around the world is encouraging more Jews to return to Israel. The settlements are going to continue to expand. ... If this peace process doesn’t work, it may be physically impossible to have a two-state solution.”
O’Brien defended Trump’s peace plan meant to solve the Israel-Palestinian conflict, admitting that while it is not “perfect,” the Palestinians should use it as a starting point for negotiations.
The economic benefits in the plan could allow a Palestinian state to become the “Singapore of the Middle East,” he said, according to the report.
The Palestinians have rejected the plan while Israel has accepted it. The plan would allow Israel to annex Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley.
