WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Sam Brownback today delivered the keynote speech at the Heritage Foundation on the possibility of achieving Middle East peace. He said the two-state solution has failed and the Palestinians are worse off than before, that peace efforts should focus on the rights of each Palestinian instead of the creation of an untenable state, and that Gaza and the West Bank should look to confederations with their neighbors for security. The following are excerpts from his speech:

"While America should support and defend Israel's right to maintain stable, secure, and defensible borders, any peace agreement in the Middle East must also focus on the goal of improving the lives of Palestinians," said Brownback. "The peace process should ensure that every Palestinian possesses the civil and political rights that are foundational to society. We cannot be sure of what the Palestinians truly want unless and until they have the chance to express it themselves openly and honestly, something that has unfortunately never taken place without fear of retribution by armed extremist groups. I do not believe that the election of Hamas - a rocket-firing, Iranian-backed militia - represents the articulation of Palestinian self-determination. Hamas rules by the sword, not by the consent of governed."

"For Palestinians across the Middle East to achieve lasting peace, they should be able to obtain both political rights and economic self-sufficiency. Any peace plan must work toward improving the lives of Palestinians by ensuring that the Palestinian economy is self-sufficient, and focus on weaning the Palestinians from their state of economic dependency."

"It is my opinion that the system broke down when policymakers in the U.S. and abroad decided to scrap the goal of improving Palestinians' lives and replaced it with one particular proposal to achieve that objective - the creation of an independent Palestinian state. After sixteen years, billions of dollars, dozens of international summits and limitless diplomatic support, the grand experiment of pursuing statehood above all else has failed. Palestinians are no closer to obtaining independence than when the process began, and during that time, thousands of innocent people have died and the influence of radical ideology has never been greater. The legacy of the 16-year two-state experiment is one of a lost opportunity."

"Polling of Palestinians just a few years ago suggested that almost half of the Palestinians support rethinking the goal of establishing an independent state."

"We must look at other solutions. Recognizing the sharp distinction between the fate of Gaza and the West Bank over the past few years, it is hard to see how the two could fit together in a state-like arrangement. Rather than forcing a connection where it doesn't exist, we should explore the possibility of treating the two territories as distinct entities while still pursuing the broader political and economic goals. Each territory could pursue confederation with its respective contiguous Arab neighbor - Egypt and Jordan - or the two territories could try to form a federation that could associate with both Arab states. Under such an arrangement, Palestinians could obtain autonomy to exercise local political and economic rights, while the confederation partner would maintain authority over security matters. Palestinians would remove themselves from Israeli sovereignty, while Israel would gain legitimate partners to work with, and to hold accountable for, any security problems."

"Another straightforward measure relates to the millions of Palestinians stuck in camps in surrounding Arab states. Rather than pressuring neighboring Arab states to release these Palestinians from six decades of captivity and allow them to voluntarily integrate or emigrate, we have allowed them to perpetuate as pawns of Arab regimes seeking to threaten Israel with the false concept of the 'right of return.' With the level of economic assistance that we provide to these Arab states, the time has come to request an end to the artificial refugee crisis they perpetuate. Doing so could instantly confer upon millions of Palestinians political and economic rights they otherwise have been denied for generations."

"For these reasons, the U.S. Defense Department should conduct an in-depth study on the impact that premature Palestinian independence would have on U.S. national security. The study should compare alternative proposals, so that policymakers would have all the information they need to make informed decisions about the best way to advance the security interests of the American people."