Two sides of the 2-state solution

Re “Bibi and Barack,” Opinion, May 18

It is time the U.S. stops supporting the Israeli war machine and starts working for a truly peaceful solution that includes the Palestinians and an independent Palestinian state. We must stop the killing of innocent Palestinians who are deprived of their livelihood, with never-ending grabs of their land.

Arianna Stocking

San Rafael

::

Instead of spending the day railing against the entire Mustafa Barghouthi article for its inaccuracies, allow me to address the one sentence that puts into question everything else:

Barghouthi blithely states: “The best way to achieve [Palestinian economic improvement] is through control over their own lives, borders and resources.”

Especially because, when the Palestinians had control over their lives, borders and resources, they squandered it away, or gave it away, as in the case of the billions of dollars in funds by Yasser Arafat and his bunch.

And as to Palestinian control over Gaza, we all know where the economic resources have been invested.

Steve Klein

Encino

::

Barghouthi is right on the mark about the importance of President Obama’s meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu.

He is right to say that demands for the U.S. to deal with Iran before tackling the need for an independent Palestinian state are nothing but delaying tactics.

Likewise, he correctly notes that the demand for Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state is another way to drag out negotiations.

Fortunately, Barghouthi is also right in stating that the world is increasingly savvy to Israel’s tactics.

Barbara Erickson

Berkeley