‘US Slams Palestinian Statehood Initiative’… Carrying AIPAC and J Street’s pro-Israel Lobby water is no bargain

Less than six months after President Barack Obama came out formally in favor of an independent Palestinian state, the US State Department is condemning the Palestinian push for statehood.

Following yesterday’s reports that top Palestinian leaders, frustrated by Israel’s repeatedly declarations that the peace process was dead, intend to approach the UN about a unilateral declaration of independence, the State Department says the US is opposed to any Palestinian state that doesn’t arise from negotiations with Israel.

Israel has also angrily condemned the idea of a unilateral Palestinian state, and Minister Gilad Erdan says Israel may annex additional portions of the occupied territories to punish the Palestinians for this move. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman expressed hope that the US would veto Palestinian statehood in the UN Security Council.

Israel and the US aren’t the only opponents of the move. Surprisingly enough Hamas is also criticizing the push, saying that resisting the occupation is more practical than simply hoping that a Palestinian state can be created out of thin air. Not that decades of resisting the occupation has had much success either.