Benjamin Netanyahu (AFP photo)Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called for creation of a limited Palestinian state for the first time, saying it would have to be disarmed, AP reported Sunday.
Netanyahu made the call during a major policy speech about his Mideast peacemaking intentions.
"In any peace agreement, the territory under Palestinian control must be disarmed, with solid security guarantees for Israel," he said.
"If we get this guarantee for demilitarization and necessary security arrangements for Israel, and if the Palestinians recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people, we will be willing in a real peace agreement to reach a solution of a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state," he said.
Up to now Netanyahu has resisted endorsing the creation of a Palestinian state as part of a Mideast peace settlement, drawing intense pressure from the administration of President Barack Obama.
Netanyahu also said the Palestinians must recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and he declared that the solution of the Palestinian refugee problem must be "outside Israel."
Palestinians claim that refugees from the 1948-49 war that followed Israel's creation and their millions of descendants have the right to reclaim their original homes.
"I call on you, our Palestinian neighbors, and to the leadership of the Palestinian Authority: Let us begin peace negotiations immediately, without preconditions," he said. "Israel is committed to international agreements and expects all the other parties to fulfill their obligations as well."
Netanyahu also called for Arab leaders to meet him and contribute to Palestinian economic development.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the speech as "sabotaging" peace efforts, Reuters reported.
A senior Palestinian negotiator called on U.S. President Barack Obama to intervene to force Israel to abide by previous interim agreements that include freezing settlement activity in the West Bank. The alternative, he said, was violence.
"The peace process has been moving at the speed of a tortoise," negotiator Saeb Erekat said. (Above: Mahmoud Abbas)
"Tonight, Netanyahu has flipped it over on its back."
Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah said: "Netanyahu's remarks have sabotaged all initiatives, paralysed all efforts being made and challenges the Palestinian, Arab and American positions."
He noted Netanyahu's demand that Jerusalem be the undivided capital of Israel and that Palestinian refugees not be allowed into Israel: "This will not lead to complete and just peace," Abu Rdainah said. "His remarks are not enough and will not lead to a solution."
"President Obama, the ball is in your court tonight," Erekat said. "You have the choice tonight. You can treat Netanyahu as a prime minister above the law and...close off the path of peace tonight and set the whole region on the path of violence, chaos, extremism and bloodletting."
Just what we need from every side--more rhetoric...although something is better than nothing.
Source: The Associated Press, Reuters
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