Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu invited Palestinians back to the bargaining table Tuesday with a speech before Congress that promised “painful” Israeli concessions in exchange for peace but also outlined a tough negotiating stance that was immediately rejected by key Palestinian officials.
One aide to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called Netanyahu’s proposals a “declaration of war against the Palestinians.”
Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu congratulates America for killing bin Laden, saying `good riddance,' and adding that the U.S. has a permanent partner for peace in Israel. (May 24)
Netanyahu’s vision for Middle East peace drew thunderous ovations from U.S. lawmakers who cheered his prescription for a two-state solution that he said would lead to a “viable, independent and prosperous” Palestinian state. The speech culminated a dramatic several days in U.S.-Israeli relations, including a major speech on the Middle East by President Obama on Thursday, a charged visit between the two leaders on Friday and numerous quieter contacts between officials of the two nations.
Netanyahu, one of a handful of foreign leaders to appear twice before joint meetings of Congress, laid out a vision for a peace agreement with the Palestinians that he said would include a “far-reaching compromise” and generous land concessions by Israel.
At the same time, he reiterated his inflexibility on several key points, vowing again that Israel would never accept a return to “indefensible” boundary lines that existed before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. In Obama’s speech Thursday, the president called for those boundaries to be the basis for future negotiations — a proposal that, by many accounts, angered Netanyahu and some other Israeli leaders.
In his remarks to Congress, Netanyahu appeared to signal room for compromise on a key point of contention: the future of Jerusalem. While the prime minister reiterated calls for the city to remain the country’s “undivided capital,” he added new rhetoric, saying that “with creativity and goodwill, a solution can be found.”
A person familiar with the planning for the speech said this line was intended to signal that Israel is interested in an approach that might satisfy Palestinian desires for a capital within Jerusalem’s current municipal boundaries by redrawing those lines and ceding certain Arab neighborhoods.
Netanyahu rejected any possibility of talks with a Palestinian government that includes the Islamist militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and recently reached a power-sharing deal with the mainstream Fatah administration in the West Bank.
Yet he declared that Israel must “find a way to forge a lasting peace with the Palestinians.”
“I recognize that in a genuine peace, we will be required to give up parts of the Jewish ancestral homeland,” he said.
Netanyahu blamed the Palestinians for the failure to end the long-running conflict so far, saying they have been “unwilling to accept a Palestinian state if it meant accepting a Jewish state alongside it.”
U.S. lawmakers and diplomats jammed the back walls and aisles of the crowded House chamber during the speech. Netanyahu was given a two-minute ovation when he entered the room and two dozen standing ovations during the 50-minute address.
The Post Most: NationMost-viewed stories, videos and galleries int he past two hours
Live Q&A, Tuesday Noon ET
Gene Weingarten takes polls and chats about his recent columns.
| 11:00 AM | ComPost Live with Alexandra Petri |
|---|---|
| 12:00 PM | Chatological Humor: Monthly with Moron |
| 1:00 PM | Advice from Slate's 'Dear Prudence' |
| 1:00 PM | Eugene Robinson Live |
Featured Reads
Loading...
Comments