29/01/2014 18:44
Netanyahu says Israel not obligated by US peace plan
Israel is not bound to agree to all points of an imminent US proposal for a peace agreement with the Palestinians, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech Tuesday night, The Times of Israel reports.
“The Americans are working to solidify American positions,” he said at the Institute for National Security Studies conference. “Israel does not have to accept every American position.” He said the American proposal would be presented soon.
Netanyahu also expressed some doubt as to “whether the Palestinians are really ready to grapple with the concessions they will have to make” in order to reach a peace agreement. He did give some grudging praise to the Palestinian Authority, however, saying it does not use terrorism in pursuit of its goals, unlike Hamas.
“We stand on two basic principles [that we require of the Palestinians],” he said. “The first is recognition of the State of Israel as the national state of the Jewish people. This is the root of the conflict. The conflict is not about the settlements, it’s not about the settlers, and it’s not about a Palestinian state. The Zionist movement agreed to recognize a Palestinian state.
“The conflict is over the Jewish state… We are asked to recognize a national Palestinian state, so can we not also demand [that they] recognize a national Jewish state?” he said.
The second principle, Netanyahu said, was demilitarization. Elaborating, he said, constant incitement against Israel among the Palestinians had created a climate in which Israel required a substantial “security presence” in order to protect itself. That included a “long-term” presence in the Jordan Valley and other areas.
The best formulation to summarize Israel’s vision for a viable two-state solution, said the prime minister, was that the Palestinians establish “a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state.”