This evening, in a rare address to the US Congress, in front of hundreds of legislators from both houses, in the hall in which the US President gives his annual State of the Union address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set forth his vision for peace with the Palestinians.
" I am willing to make painful compromises to achieve this historic peace. As the leader of Israel, it is my responsibility to lead my people to peace," Netanyahu declared."
The principles that Netanyahu set out in his speech are well-known: no return to the 1967 borders; the Palestinians must recognize the Jewish state; an IDF presence in the Jordan Valley; the Palestinian state must be demilitarized; no negotiations with Hamas. However, the exalted stage gave these things renewed force, the stamp of a historic speech.
This was in fact Netanyahu's second speech before Congress; the first was in 1996. This speech however will reverberate widely. Not only did it define Israel's relations with the Palestinians, but it will to a large degree affect relations between Jerusalem and Washington.
As Netanyahu made his way to the podium, many of the legislators who packed the hall crowded round him to shake his hand. With Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner behind him, against the backdrop of a huge US flag, the prime minister seemed quite moved for the first minute. The Congress is a traditional stronghold of bi-partisan support for Israel, and Netanyahu personally knows dozens of legislators who esteem and admire him. Nevertheless, it seemed as though the occasion affected even him. But he recovered quickly. The applause lasted three minutes, and grew stronger as the prime minister took the podium.
Spelling out what compromises meant, Netanyahu said, "This compromise must reflect the dramatic demographic changes that have occurred since 1967. The vast majority of the 650,000 Israelis who live beyond the 1967 lines, reside in neighborhoods and suburbs of Jerusalem and Greater Tel Aviv.
"These areas are densely populated but geographically quite small. Under any realistic peace agreement, these areas, as well as other places of critical strategic and national importance, will be incorporated into the final borders of Israel.
"The status of the settlements will be decided only in negotiations. But we must also be honest. So I am saying today something that should be said publicly by anyone serious about peace. In any peace agreement that ends the conflict, some settlements will end up beyond Israel’s borders. The precise delineation of those borders must be negotiated. We will be very generous on the size of a future Palestinian state. But as President Obama said, the border will be different than the one that existed on June 4, 1967. Israel will not return to the indefensible lines of 1967."
"This is not easy for me," the prime minister said. "I recognize that in a genuine peace, we will be required to give up parts of the Jewish homeland. In Judea and Samaria, the Jewish people are not foreign occupiers. We are not the British in India. We are not the Belgians in the Congo.
"This is the land of our forefathers, the Land of Israel, to which Abraham brought the idea of one God, where David set out to confront Goliath, and where Isaiah saw a vision of eternal peace. No distortion of history can deny the four thousand year old bond, between the Jewish people and the Jewish land.
"But there is another truth: The Palestinians share this small land with us. We seek a peace in which they will be neither Israel’s subjects nor its citizens. They should enjoy a national life of dignity as a free, viable and independent people in their own state. They should enjoy a prosperous economy, where their creativity and initiative can flourish."
Netanyahu stressed that the solution to the Palestinian refugee problem must be within the Palestinian state, and was adamant that Jerusalem should remain united. "As for Jerusalem, only a democratic Israel has protected freedom of worship for all faiths in the city. Jerusalem must never again be divided. Jerusalem must remain the united capital of Israel. I know that this is a difficult issue for Palestinians. But I believe with creativity and goodwill a solution can be found," the prime minister said.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 24, 2011
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2011