FOXNews.com
May 20, 2011
The frosty relationship between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will endure another test Friday, as the two meet in the Oval Office following a bombshell policy shift by the U.S. on terms for Mideast peace.
Obama, in a sweeping address tackling the uprisings in the Middle East and the stalled peace process, stunned Washington and Jerusalem Thursday by endorsing Palestinians' demand for their own state based on the pre-1967 borders. The break with U.S. policy appeared to immediately aggravate the Israelis, who want the borders of any future Palestinian state determined through negotiations.
In a statement released late Thursday, Netanyahu said such a withdrawal would put at risk Israel's security. He effectively called on Obama to recant his latest demand.
"Israel appreciates President Obama's commitment to peace," the statement said. "Israel believes that for peace to endure between Israelis and Palestinians, the viability of a Palestinian state cannot come at the expense of the viability of the one and only Jewish state. That is why Prime Minister Netanyahu expects to hear a reaffirmation from President Obama of U.S. commitments made to Israel in 2004. ... Among other things, those commitments relate to Israel not having to withdraw to the 1967 lines."
According to a report in the Israeli newspaper YNet, the prime minister is prepared for a confrontation with Obama Friday. Obama and Netanyahu have worked through a string of diplomatic challenges over the past two and a half years, but the president's Mideast speech presents a new hurdle. The U.S. had previously endorsed the concept of a Palestinian state, but not the demand for permanent pre-1967 borders, with mutually agreed land swaps.
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