Standing firm

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a rare speech to a joint meeting of the United States Congress on Tuesday, saying he would be "generous" in any peace deal with the Palestinians but would not accept pre-1967 borders as a basis for negotiations.

The prime minister's speech contained no surprises, and divisions with President Barack Obama were as clear as they were when he began his visit to Washington last week.

"In any peace agreement that ends the conflict, some settlements will end up beyond Israel's borders," Netanyahu said. "We will be very generous on the size of a future Palestinian state."

Obama said last week that the borders before the 1967 Arab-Israeli War should be the starting point for reigniting peace negotiations with the Palestinians, along with mutually-agreed territory swaps. But Netanyahu repeated his rejection of this demand.

"Israel will not return to the indefensible lines of 1967," he said. "Any peace deal must take into account the dramatic demographic changes that have occurred since 1967."

Peace process stalled

Palestinian leaders were dismissive of the speech, saying it offered no new solutions to the stalemate.

"What came in Netanyahu's speech will not lead to peace," said Nabil Abu Rdainah, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Direct negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders restarted to much international fanfare last September, but the peace process has since reached a standstill.

Netanyahu called on Abbas to say he would accept Israel as a Jewish state. He also ruled out any negotiations until Abbas' Fatah party goes back on its reconciliation plan with Hamas, which calls for the destruction of Israel.

Palestinian leaders have been gearing up for a bid to obtain recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state by the United Nations General Assembly next September.

Author: Andrew Bowen (AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Susan Houlton