In case you were wondering where the two-state solution is holding on the scale of fruitful-to-fallacy, the Palestinians have now weighed in. In response to the Obama-Netanyahu meeting, Hamas issued a press release declaring the American President’s optimism to be “intended to deceive the world community, regarding everything connected to the… existence of the racist and radical Zionist entity.” That would be Israel.

Okay, scratch Hamas. Maybe the Palestinian Authority will solve the Hamas problem by incorporating the terror group that today rules the Gaza strip into a unified Palestinian government, and then we can talk about a two-state solution again? Not so fast. The same day, PA President Mahmoud Abbas swore in a Hamas-free government, effectively slamming the door on reconciliation talks. He has worked so hard to permanently divide the West Bank from Gaza that he has even infuriated his own Fatah faction, which boycotted the swearing-in ceremony.

According to Haaretz, one Palestinian commentator spoke directly to the point, when he raised the question of whether Obama’s optimism was justified. “Obama still doesn’t know what the Middle East is and what the Palestinian issue is,” he said. “With time, he will learn.”