The forbidden words "two states" slipped out of Prime Minister Yair Lapid's mouth, sparking an uproar.
How dare he? The Likud immediately pointed fingers at him for wanting to "hand over our homeland's territory to our enemies."
Right-wing Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar claimed that "establishing a terror state in the Judea and Samaria will endanger the security of Israel." Even Naftali Bennett, the alternate prime minister to Lapid mind you, sharply condemned this idea.
What's all the fuss about? Can we really say there was a prime minister in recent decades who did not propose the idea of two states?
Ehud Barrak pitched it. Arik Sharon promoted the "Road Map for Peace", which included a phase of establishing a viable, sovereign Palestinian state. Ehud Olmert also proposed it.
And Benjamin Netanyahu, who vouched for this solution in his Bar-Ilan speech in 2009, also moved forward with it through talks with former US secretary of state John Kerry, and in his adoption of Trump's "Peace to Prosperity" plan which pushed for a two-state solution.
So what exactly is the problem now? According to his previous suggestions, Netanyahu apparently also wants to "hand over our homeland's territory to our enemies" … He's allowed to, yet Lapid is not?
There is no chance a two-state solution could actually take place, given the Palestinians - just as they have every other time - will refuse every offer Lapid brings to the table.
Yes, whoever sees straight, would be right to say that a Palestinian state would most likely be a terror state or a Hamas state or an Iranian satellite state. But this discussion is irrelevant, because it doesn't matter what Israel proposes – the Palestinians will continue to refuse.
So why make an offer in the first place? Well, because on the international arena, we must be clear that Israel will always be open to peace.
Israel has always said yes and the Palestinians have always said no. The direct outcome is that Israel prospers while the Palestinians suffer.
What exactly do the Likud, Bennett, and Sa'ar want to happen? Do they prefer we trade places with the Palestinians? That we start saying no and the Palestinians say yes? Have they lost their minds? Even Netanyahu was proven to understand this is not an option.
There is nothing new in the news that election campaigns cause the Likud to shout out offensive exclamations that turn Israel into a peace denier.
But it is now attacking the prime minister for doing exactly what he should - acting in accordance to the national interest. He is not letting the Likud's scandalous campaigns set the tone in his decision making.
We need to remember that whoever so tenaciously rejects a two-state solution, will lead us to the worst disaster of all - a one-state solution.