Well, here’s something we probably didn’t expect to be reporting on: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has for the very first time acknowledged the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israel/Palestine conflict. Until yesterday, Netanyahu had never espoused this position (at least publicly), making his statement especially powerful.

Seen as a response to President Obama’s recent Cairo speech, Netanyahu gave some conditions for the recognition of a Palestinian state, according to the New York Times.

[Netanyahu stated a Palestinian state could exist] on condition that the state was demilitarized and that the Palestinians recognized Israel as the state of the Jewish people…But he firmly rejected American demands for a complete freeze on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the subject of a rare public dispute between Israel and its most important ally on an issue seen as critical to peace negotiations.

Jerusalem, as well, would have to stay under Israeli control. Palestine, for its part, didn’t really see much of an olive branch extended here.

“Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about negotiations, but left us with nothing to negotiate as he systematically took nearly every permanent status issue off the table,” Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian negotiator, said in a statement. “Nor did he accept a Palestinian state. Instead, he announced a series of conditions and qualifications that render a viable, independent and sovereign Palestinian state impossible.”

And, on top of that, some Israeli opinions were not exactly positive, either. Haaretz.com gave this response:

Contrary to his predecessors, who believed in the moral and ethical necessity of a two-state solution, the prime minister was evidently not a believer. He has had to loosen the American noose on a daily basis, and he made the effort. Anyone who believes a Palestinian state will arise under Netanyahu, even if he lasts out his term, raise your hand now. Why did he wait until yesterday? Why did he not say this immediately after the elections? He might have been able to bring Kadima into his coalition. And if not then, then why not in a photo opportunity with Barack Obama at the Oval Office? The growing international pressure, the chill from the Israeli public, all these forced him to climb, even belatedly, onto the lingering two-state wagon.

So what do we make of all this? Is this actually a positive step in the right direction, or is this merely posturing without any desire to see results to get a reprieve from the international community? Unfortunately, there’s been lots of rhetoric in the past regarding solutions to this conflict, and obviously nothing yet has come of it. And a hawk like Netanyahu may not firmly believe what he’s saying. Or, it could be like Nixon and China–the right person to open it was the person that had made a career fighting it.

photo credit: World Economic Forum’s flickr photostream/Creative Commons