Paul supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but says he isn’t sure that will ever happen “because now, nobody trusts American leadership. Without proper American leadership, it’s not going to happen.”
In 2000, when Ehud Barak was Israel’s prime minister and Arafat was the Palestinians’ leader, Paul says he “had hopes” that peace was achievable. I ask Paul for his impressions of Arafat. He responds, “Why talk about a dead man? But [he was] a very unique person. That’s all I can say right now.”
Paul has also met several times with Mahmoud Abbas, the current Palestinian leader. Asked if he believes Abbas is committed to peace, Paul answers, “He really wanted to get the peace deal [with Israel] done. He’s caught in a very unique spot between the West and the East. All the fanatics and extremists in the Muslim community hate him, and all the right-wing Western leaders say he doesn’t do enough. So it’s very hard.”
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