A two-state solution should remain the ultimate goal of U.S. policy in relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Don’t misunderstand me. It should be obvious that Hamas is the key obstacle to a sustainable Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The terrorist group’s very raison d’etre is prohibitive to that process. While Israel and Hamas can make short-term deals as with the present hostage-prisoner transfers, Hamas’s existential focus on Israel’s destruction makes longer-term peace negotiations impossible. As with the Oct. 7 atrocities, Hamas will keep attacking where it senses the opportunity to do so. Hamas believes it is on a mission from God to secure the entirety of Israel under Islamic law. Israel must thus weaken Hamas to such a degree that it is politically and militarily impotent. It is for this reason that the peace process is ultimately served by Hamas’s dislocation from power. That said, an eventual two-state solution remains in America’s interest.