Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave two new interviews detailing peace talks with the Palestinians, conceding that Israel would have to give up some settlements in a peace deal, but also saying it would be as few as possible.
“I will not leave any Israeli without Israeli defense,” Netanyahu added, saying that absolutely all of occupied East Jerusalem would remain Israeli, and that the Palestinians would have to endorse Israel as a “Jewish state.”
Though Palestinian officials initially conceded Israel would keep the major settlement blocs as part of a land swap agreement, Israel continues to increase the number of isolated settlements it considers vital.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated today that there was “no way” his government could recognize Israel’s state on the basis of Jewishness, nor was he willing to accept US proposals to keep a trivial East Jerusalem neighborhood as the capital of Palestine.
