Obama presses Bibi on “tough decisions” to move talks forward
US President Barack Obama pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make the “tough decisions” needed to move forward on talks with the Palestinians, as he sought to salvage an elusive Middle East peace plan.
But facing a US-imposed April deadline, the Israeli leader declared that, “Israel has been doing its part and, I regret to say, the Palestinians have not.”
Mr Netanyahu’s comments underscored the slim prospects of reaching an agreement to the long-running conflict, despite a robust effort led by US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Mr Obama and Mr Netanyahu’s Oval Office meeting marked a more direct foray into the peace negotiations by Mr Obama, who will also meet at the White House later this month with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
“It is still possible to create two states, a Jewish state of Israel and a state of Palestine, with people living side by side in peace and security,” Mr Obama said. “But it’s difficult. It requires compromise on all sides.”
While the relationship between Mr Obama and Mr Netanyahu has improved after early tensions, the two leaders still wrestle with deep differences, particularly on Iran. Israel sees Iran’s nuclear programme as an existential threat and fears Tehran is using US-led negotiations to stall while it builds a bomb.
Mr Obama, seeking to reassure Mr Netanyahu, affirmed his “absolute commitment that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon”.
Mr Netanyahu insisted that Iran must suspend all uranium enrichment, though any final deal between the international community and Iran is likely to leave the Islamic republic with a small enrichment capacity.
“No country has a greater stake in this,” said Mr Netanyahu, who is in Washington to speak at the annual meeting of AIPAC, the largest pro-Israel lobby.
Mr Obama, who has twice addressed the conference, is not speaking this year, though Mr Kerry was scheduled to speak.
In excerpts released ahead of his speech, Mr Kerry outlined what he called “the endgame” in the peace negotiations. He said a peace deal must include security arrangements that leave Israel more secure, mutual recognition of states for the Jewish and Palestinian people, an end to all conflict, a just solution for Palestinian refugees, and an resolution “that finally allows Jerusalem to live up to its name as the city of peace”.
Mr Kerry has made nearly a dozen trips to the region over the past year and is seeking to get both sides to sign a framework by the end of April that would serve as a guide for negotiations on a permanent solution to the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. The framework aims to address the core issues in the dispute, including borders between Israel and a future Palestine, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of the holy city of Jerusalem.
New Israeli housing statistics showed that Israel began building more than twice as many West Bank settlement homes in 2013 than it did the previous year. The Palestinians consider settlements built on territories captured by Israel in 1967 to be illegal and an obstacle to peace.
The Palestinians seek the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip for an independent state. They have demanded that Israel agree to base the final borders with a future Palestine on the pre-1967 lines, with small land swaps that would allow Israel to keep some of the Jewish settlements it has built in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Mr Netanyahu has refused to recognise the 1967 lines as a starting point. He wants to retain an Israeli presence in a strategic area of the West Bank along the border with Jordan and keep large blocs of settlements closest to Israel. He has given no indication as to how much territory he is willing to cede, and he has rejected any division of east Jerusalem, the Palestinians’ hoped-for capital.
Mr Netanyahu has also demanded that the Palestinians recognise Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people. The Palestinians reject this, saying it would undermine the rights of displaced Palestinian refugees who claim properties in what is now Israel, as well as the rights of Israel’s Arab minority.
The Palestinians fear the emerging American proposal will largely side with Israel, particularly on the Jewish state, and by including only a vague mention of Palestinian “aspirations” in Jerusalem, rather than a specific reference to east Jerusalem.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
