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21:33 GMT
WASHINGTON, Feb 16 (KUNA) -- US President Donald Trump's nominee for ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, insisted Thursday that Palestinian "terror" is the main obstacle to peace in the region.
At his confirmation hearing, Friedman did not address Israeli settlement construction or home demolitions, and instead told lawmakers that "the Palestinians' failure to renounce terror and accept Israel as a Jewish state" is why "we haven't made progress since" the 1993 Oslo Accords.
On Wednesday, Trump suggested he would be open to backing either a one-state or a two-state solution.
Friedman, however, indicated he still stands behind the long-held policy of a two-state solution.
If the two sides can reach an agreement "through direct negotiations along parameters agreeable to them," Friedman said, he "would be delighted to see peace come to this region where people have suffered on both sides for so long". (end)
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