WASHINGTON – “As my father always said, never crucify yourself on a small cross.” That was a commonly used aphorism employed by then-Vice President Joe Biden, according to former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren’s memoir.

During his four-day whirlwind visit to Israel, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia, the U.S. president all but declared the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a small cross, effectively shelving any efforts at actively pursuing a two-state solution for the duration of his presidency.

At Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem, of all places, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a death certificate. The two-state solution died a long time ago, and now so has the Palestinians’ strategic choice of relying on the West in their struggle for their national rights.

This hope drew its last breath at Augusta Victoria. In his speech Biden mused at great length about his and his family’s time in the hospital; he remembered the intensive care ward. A flat line on the monitor meant death, he learned there. About an hour later, in Bethlehem, the monitor flatlined. The path the Palestinians embarked on 50 years ago has come to an end. They have reached a dead end.