RAMALLAH, February 15, 2017 (WAFA) – Hanan Ashrawi, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said Wednesday the alternative to two states is one state with equal rights or an apartheid.

Responding to comments by a White House official who said the US administration may not press for Palestinian-Israeli peace based on the two-state solution any longer, Ashrawi said that if this is the case, the US should spell out an alternative.

"If U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to create alternative realities, then he should spell out what the options are – a one-state solution would require equal rights and citizenship for all, unless he is advocating an apartheid state,” she said in a statement.

“However, a situation of perpetual occupation would only generate greater extremism and violence within the region and beyond,” she said.

The PLO official said the two-state solution is a longstanding policy of the US and has global consensus as a basic requirement for peace.

“If the Trump Administration rejects this policy it would be destroying the chances for peace and undermining American interests, standing and credibility abroad,” warned Ashrawi.

“Accommodating the most extreme and irresponsible elements in Israel and in the White House is no way to make responsible foreign policy,” she said.

M.K.