CAMPAIGN 2012

New Leaked Romney Video: Israeli Peace ‘Almost Unthinkable’

Updated: September 18, 2012 | 1:22 p.m.
September 18, 2012 | 6:58 a.m.

A young Palestinian man hurls stones at Israeli police December 8, 2000, during violent clashes in the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel. (David Silverman/Newmakers)

A new and potentially embarrassing video has surfaced from the same fundraising event that got Mitt Romney into hot water on Monday, but this time the focus is on foreign policy and peace between Israelis and Palestinians, which he calls  "almost unthinkable."

In the video, Romney responds to a question about the “Palestinian problem” by saying that Palestinians have "no interest whatsoever in establishing peace, and that the pathway to peace is almost unthinkable to accomplish."

The videos were first reported on the website for Mother Jones magazine.

In the lengthy and detailed comments at a fundraising dinner in Boca Raton, Fla., in May, Romney describes how he believes a two-state solution for Palestinians and Israelis would be nearly impossible to achieve, saying, “I look at the Palestinians not wanting to see peace anyway, for political purposes, committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel, and these thorny issues, and I say, 'There's just no way.'"

Later, he says that, “you recognize that this is going to remain an unsolved problem…and we kick the ball down the field and hope that ultimately, somehow, something will happen and resolve it.”

A two-state solution is officially endorsed in the Republican Party platform.

Romney added that "The idea of pushing on the Israelis to give something up to get the Palestinians to act is the worst idea in the world."

Romney also discusses Iran and attacks Obama as “naive” in his foreign policy.

In the earlier video, Romney had said of the roughly 47 percent of Americans who don't pay federal income taxes that they see themselves as "victims" who are dependent on the federal government. He further said that "my job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."

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