Netanyahu defiant over 1967 borders

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared tonight that Israel would not withdraw to 1967 borders to help make way for an adjacent Palestinian state.

The Israeli leader said he would make some concessions but his country would not go back to the lines from decades earlier because they would be “indefensible.”

For his part, Mr Obama said that there were differences of formulations and language but that such disputes are going to happen “between friends.”

The president did not mention the 1967 borders as the two men talked with reporters after a lengthy meeting at the White House.

Mr Obama said in a speech yesterday that the United States supports the creation of a Palestinian state based on the border lines that existed before the 1967 Six Day War in which Israeli forces occupied east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. The comment drew angry criticism in Israel, and Mr Netanyahu made clear after meeting with Mr Obama that the idea was unacceptable.

“We cannot go back to those indefensible lines,” he said.

Both leaders said they shared a desire to get to peace and downplayed disagreements. “We may have differences here and there,” Mr Netanyahu said.

But there was no sign of resolution of the many barriers that stand between Israel and the Palestinians, more now than last September when Mr Obama brought the two parties together to call for a peace deal within a year – a deadline that now looks all but unattainable.

Mr Netanyahu said his nation could not negotiate with a newly constituted Palestinian unity government that includes the radical Hamas movement, which refuses to recognise Israel’s right to exist.

He said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had to choose between continuing the deal with Hamas and making peace with Israel.

Mr Obama agreed that Hamas “is not a partner for a significant realistic peace process” and said Palestinians would have to resolve that issue among themselves.

Yet both Mr Obama and Mr Netanyahu emphasised a need to make some kind of progress, against all obstacles, as changes sweep the Arab world.

“History will not give the Jewish people another chance,” Mr Netanyahu said.