Israeli President Shimon Peres today sought to break the stalemate regarding the creation of a Palestinian state by proposing to allow a state with ill-defined “temporary borders.” This would be coupled with the promise that “this would not be the end of the negotiations” and that eventually there would be some sort of permanent border worked out.
Of course Peres’ power is very limited in the nation and Israel’s actual leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is not expected to be nearly so conciliatory, particularly amid pressure from members of his right-wing Likud Party not even to utter the phrase “Palestinian state.”
In fact parliamentary speaker Reuven Rivlin insists Netanyahu doesn’t believe in the “two states for two peoples” concept in the first place. Rather the government seems intent on growing the settlements in the West Bank and sees the “Palestinian problem” as one to be solved not through negotiations with the Palestinians, but through pressure on Israel’s Arab neighbors.
To that end, officials from neighboring Egypt say the Obama Administration is heavily pressuring the Arab world to normalize relations with Israel immediately as part of an attempt to achieve a “comprehensive peace” in the region. Obama has come out in favor of a Palestinian state, but in doing so has sparked outrage in Israel and among members of his own party.
US diplomats are now conceding that they don’t expect Netanyahu to commit to any of the administration’s demands, that he will neither speak out in favor of a two-state solution nor agree to halting the expansion of the settlements. It seems then that those hoping for a resolution to the many decades long conflict will wind up disappointed.
Israel has refused both the one AND two-state solutions. So which side is it exactly that doesn't have a partner in peace?
Wow!, these Zionists just love twisting the knife.
The question is: What will America do next Monday after Netanyahu defies Obama? There are several options including: ending US support for Israel against protests over Palestinian rights at the UN; ending US military aid currently at circa $3 billion per year; providing more military aid to Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and even Syria; requiring Israel to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and confirming the existence of her massive arsenal of nuclear weapons as well as many more options for decoupling Israel from American diplomatic, intelligence and military plans. Then there are always financial alternatives that could cost israel and corporations based there massive amounts of money. So, the case of Binyamin Netanyahu will become much more interesting when he insults Obama this weekend which will probably trigger a series of events leading to the collapse of his government and the rise of a more centrist regime in the state of Israel that is now morphing into a theocratic version of Eretz Israel — the dream of Zionism.
Talk is ludicrous. Unless USA & others makes Israel pay for it's crimes and keeps giving them money it's obviously a sham.
Why not start scraping dual nationalities and aid gifts? & Trade sanctions too?