Israel, U.S. on a collision course

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were on a collision course over the shape of an elusive peace with the Palestinians ahead of Oval Office talks Friday, May 20.

Obama set up an open conflict with Netanyahu on Thursday in his long-awaited speech on the "Arab Spring" revolts, by saying that territorial lines in place before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war should be the basis for a peace deal, AFP reported.

Netanyahu has long opposed such a formulation, and his office issued a blunt statement saying such a scheme would leave it "indefensible" and would isolate major Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Analysts said Obama became the first president to specifically state that the 1967 borders should be the basis for peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, shut down over a settlements row last year.

U.S. officials had, however, privately been pushing the position for a while and the principle was close to the shape of a failed deal advanced by former president Bill Clinton at Camp David in 2000. "The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states," Obama said in the speech at the State Department.

Netanyahu's statement, however, urged Obama to commit to assurances laid out in 2004 by then-president George W. Bush, who said "new realities on the ground," meant a "full and complete return" to 1967 borders was "unrealistic."

"Prime Minister Netanyahu expects to hear a reaffirmation from President Obama of U.S. commitments made to Israel in 2004, which were overwhelmingly supported by both houses of Congress," Netanyahu's statement said.

Netanyahu appeared to be playing a political card ahead of Obama's 2012 reelection race, as top Republican White House contenders slammed the president's speech as a betrayal of Israel.