THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he would support the creation of a Palestinian state, but only if it was barred from having an army.
In a landmark move, he endorsed a separate state for the first time but said it must have no military, no control of its air space and no way of smuggling in weapons.
The speech, given in response to US President Barack Obama's address to the Muslim in Cairo world last month, also called on the Palestinians to recognise the right of Israel to exist.
"If we receive this guarantee for demilitarisation and the security arrangements required by Israel, and if the Palestinians recognise Israel as the nation of the Jewish people, we will be prepared for a true peace agreement (and) to reach a solution of a demilitarised Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state," he said.
"Each will have its flag, each will have its anthem. The Palestinian territory will be without arms, will not control airspace, will not be able to have arms enter."
Until now Mr Netanyahu, who leads the Right-wing Likud party, had refused to accept anything more than a vague notion of Palestinian autonomy.
But Mr Obama has made it clear he views a two-state solution as the only solution to the conflict and Mr Netanyahu has been balancing pressure from Washington with placating a ruling coalition dependent on hardliners.
Mr Netanyahu, refused to give in to another key American demand to freeze all construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, where Palestinians hope to build a future state. >>> By Dina Kraft in Tel Aviv | Sunday, June 14, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH:
Benjamin Netanyahu: Full Speech on Palestinian State >>> | Sunday, June 14, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: Netanyahu Defies Obama with Harsh Conditions for Palestinian 'Entity'
Binyamin Netanyahu threw down the gauntlet to the US tonight, grudgingly agreeing to a limited Palestinian state that would be demilitarised and not in control of its airspace or borders.
The hawkish Prime Minister insisted that Israel would never give up a united Jerusalem as its capital, and said that established Jewish settlements in the West Bank would continue to expand — despite explicit objections from Washington.
In a keynote speech that referred to a Palestinian “entity” far more frequently than an actual state, Mr Netanyahu tried to advance elements of his economic peace plan — whereby the Palestinians would receive investment in return for limited sovereignty — while still conceding to US insistence on the creation of an independent Palestinian country.
The right-wing Israeli leader said the moderate Palestinian leadership in the West Bank must agree to recognise Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, as well as fight the Islamic hardliners Hamas, who now control Gaza, in return for the resumption of peace talks.
“The key condition is that the Palestinians recognise in a clear and public manner that Israel is the state of the Jewish people,” he told dignitaries in an auditorium at Bar Ilan University in Tel Aviv.
“If we have the guarantees on demilitarisation, and if the Palestinians recognise Israel as a state of the Jewish people, then we arrive at a solution based on a demilitarised Palestinian state alongside Israel,” Mr Netanyahu said.
“Each will have its flag, each will have its anthem. The Palestinian territory will be without arms, will not control airspace, will not be able to have arms enter.” >>> James Hider in Jerusalem | Sunday, June 14, 2009
