US, Palestine discuss commitment to two states based on 'pre-1967 lines'

Seniors officials of Palestine and the United States have discussed the decades-long Israel-Palestine conflict and their commitment to a two-state solution on the basis of the pre-1967 lines. 

The US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R Sherman and Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Hussein Al Sheikh discussed their commitment to the two-state solution and the improvement of life for Palestinians, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Tuesday.

The 1967 lines refer to the truce lines from before the Six Day War, when Israel defeated the combined armies of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, capturing Gaza from Egypt, Golan Heights from Syria and snatching away the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan.

After the 1967 war, Israel expanded its territory beyond the "green line" outlined by a 1949 ceasefire between Israel and its neighbours.  

Both officials "discussed their commitment to a two-state solution along the pre-1967 lines with mutually agreed land swaps and joint efforts to improve the quality of life for the Palestinian people," Price said.

The two also discussed the need to defuse current tensions in the occupied West Bank as well as the improvement of the security environment.

Sherman "called on all parties to restore calm and desist from unilateral actions," he said.

PLO was founded in 1964 with the initial goal of establishing Arab unity and statehood over historical Palestine but changed its purpose to find a common ground and possible peace with Israel.

READ MORE: Lapid calls for 'two-state solution' to end Israel-Palestine conflict

Support for two-state solution 

Israel's Prime Minister Yair Lapid brought up the two-state solution at the last UN General Assembly in New York to bring an end to the decades-long conflict in the Middle East.

"An agreement with the Palestinians, based on two states for two peoples, is the right thing for Israel's security, for Israel's economy and for the future of our children," Lapid said at the UN.

The two-state solution, which has been long supported by Lapid, has been opposed by many hardline Israeli PMs, including Benjamin Netanyahu.

Lawmakers in Israel's parliament, Knesset, are also divided on whether they want to pursue a two-state solution with Palestine.

Besides blockaded Gaza, Palestine seeks the West Bank and East Jerusalem — territories occupied and annexed by Israel in 1967 — for a completely independent country, a position that sees wide international support.

READ MORE: Is Israel ‘denationalising’ Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem?