Netanyahu gives way on Palestine
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By Mohammed Assadi
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinians voiced dismay on Monday over terms Benjamin Netanyahu set for a peace deal but the Israeli leader won guarded approval in Washington and Brussels for at least accepting Palestinian statehood.
In a speech on Sunday, Netanyahu responded to weeks of U.S. pressure by endorsing for the first time establishment of a Palestinian state, on condition Israel received international guarantees in advance that the new nation would be demilitarized.
Palestinians were disappointed by Netanyahu's demand that they recognize Israel as a Jewish state and his failure to halt Jewish settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
Salam Fayyad, prime minister in the Western-backed government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Netanyahu's speech "dealt a new blow to efforts to salvage the peace process, and has undermined the possibility of resuming negotiations based on its terms of reference."
Netanyahu "failed to meet the expectations of the international community" and did not commit to obligations outlined in a 2003 U.S.-sponsored "road map" for peace, he said.
But U.S. President Barack Obama said he saw "positive movement" in Netanyahu's speech and again urged Israel to halt settlement construction.
"Both sides are going to have to move in some politically difficult ways in order to achieve what is going to be in the long-term interests of the Israelis and the Palestinians and the international community," Obama said. "On the Israeli side, that means a cessation of settlements."
The European Union described the speech as "a step in the right direction" but said it was not enough to raise EU-Israel ties to a higher level.
The Foreign Ministry of Russia, a member of the quartet of peace negotiators, noted "with satisfaction" Netanyahu's "adherence to the establishment of peace in the Middle East" and "his readiness to restart the negotiations immediately."
However, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in remarks to troops that the call to recognize Israel as a Jewish state "increases the complexity of the matter and aborts the chance for peace."
Palestinians argue that granting such recognition would effectively rule out any return of Palestinian refugees to what is now Israel.
DIFFERENCES
Interviewed on U.S. television, Netanyahu said he hoped to narrow differences with Obama over settlements.
Obama has called for a full settlement freeze, in line with the road map, but Netanyahu wants building to continue in existing West Bank enclaves.
"President Obama and I are trying to reach a common understanding on this," Netanyahu told NBC television. "I think we'll find some common ground." Continued...
Source: Reuters
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