Ever since he came into office, US President Donald Trump has said many controversial things. But one of his most recent comments, as provocative as it is, happens to be very true: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a bigger obstacle to the Middle East peace process than the Palestinian leadership.

During a short meeting between Trump and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last month, Trump allegedly said of Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, “both leaders are problematic”. However, reports say that of the two, Trump chose Netanyahu as the “bigger problem”.

The claim was denied by the White House but the Haaretz newspaper said the account was backed up by seven different Western and Israeli sources who were either at the meeting or briefed on it afterwards. All these sources could not all have been wrong.

Of special note, the meeting was held one day after Trump had met Netanyahu in New York. Like most people who have talked to Netanyahu about peace, Trump probably came out of the meeting not sure how Netanyahu sees a potential resolution of the Palestinian conflict, which concessions he’s truly ready to make or what his long-term vision looks like.

It is also telling that whereas in the days before the meeting, Netanyahu repeatedly stressed that the meeting would focus on the Iranian issue, he was surprised and none too happy that Trump chose to focus on the Palestinian issue.

In comparison, when Trump met in New York with Abbas a few days later, unlike Netanyahu, Abbas cooperated with Trump’s message of optimism, determination and personal commitment to advancing peace and praised him repeatedly for his efforts to produce a breakthrough.

Netanyahu has never supported a two-state solution and his rhetoric to this effect has been disingenuous. He has made explicitly clear that he could never, ever, countenance a fully sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank. He never genuinely sought an accommodation with the Palestinians during the nine months of US-brokered negotiations that collapsed and was just stringing the Americans and the Palestinians along, while his heart was truly with the settlement enterprise.

In the latest evidence, the UN recently stated Israel was not complying with a Security Council resolution demanding a halt to all settlement activity and instead is continuing to expand settlements, making a two-state solution “increasingly unattainable”. It also cited Netanyahu’s own words in August, that "there will be no more uprooting of settlements in the land of Israel... we will deepen our roots, build, strengthen and settle". This, after Trump pointedly suggested early in his presidency that Netanyahu “hold back” on settlement building in the West Bank.

For many years the Israeli right has not felt compelled to offer any vision for Israeli rule over the territories it occupied in 1967 other than widening and deepening settlements. Victory in the 2015 elections, the third consecutive win for Netanyahu, strengthened the right's conviction that its majority is secure for many years to come. This combined feeling of permanent victory over the left and alleged defeat of the two-state model has given many right-wing leaders a sense of self-confidence.

Trump has made it clear he wants to be the US leader to achieve a lasting peace settlement, calling it the “ultimate deal”. According to reports, Trump has said that with the elderly Abbas in need of a legacy, and Israel confident in the backing of a presidency sensitive to its security needs, there is currently “a pretty good shot” at peace.

However, the virtual death of the peace process as well as the continued expansion of settlements in the West Bank have convinced Netanyahu and the right-wing that they have succeeded in their long-term efforts to bury the two-state solution and with it, the “danger” of a Palestinian state.