Members of the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party have publicly condemned his high profile foreign policy speech today, demanding that he retract his willingness to entertain the creation of a Palestinian state (albeit with several major caveats).
In the speech, Netanyahu said he was willing to enter into immediate peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, and was open to the creation of a Palestinian state provided the international community guarenteed that nation would never be allowed to have a military.
MP Zevulun Orlev claimed to be “aggrieved” by what he call “lip service to the idea of a demilitarized Palestinian state,” while others accused him to giving in to American pressure but promised to prevent the creation of such a state, which they insisted would be dangerous.
Officials from the Palestinian Authority condemned the speech as well, saying Netanyahu’s refusal to budge on the right of return and unwillingness to compromise over control of Jerusalem had effectively “sabotaged” the peace process, and had paralysed the efforts being made by the international community to negotiate a settlement.
