Israelis, Palestinians predictably differ in reactions to Obama

May 19, 2011, 20:08 GMT

Jerusalem /Ramallah - Israelis and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank diplomatically thanked Barack Obama Thursday night for his efforts to bring about an Israeli-Palestinian peace, following the US president's speech in which he urged a negotiated end to the conflict.

But Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas summoned an emergency meeting of the Palestinian leadership, after Obama called in his speech on the Palestinians not to go ahead with unilateral plans to get the United Nations in September to endorse a Palestinian state.

And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to meet Obama in Washington on Friday, issued a lengthy statement taking issue not so much with what the president said in his speech, but with what he left out.

In his remarks, Obama said that 'the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps.'

He did not specify what sort of land swaps he envisaged, and Netanyahu said he expected the president to reaffirm a pledge former President George W Bush made in 2004, which, the Israeli leader said Thursday night, stated that 'Israel will not be expected to retreat to the 1967 borders, which are indefensible.'

The 2004 pledge spoke of taking into account changes which had occurred on the ground since Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 war, and Israel interpreted this as meaning it could annex large settlement blocks in the West Bank.

Netanyahu's statement also made it clear that the Israeli leader wanted a more concrete statement on the issue of Palestinian refugees and their descendents.

Obama's speech mentioned the refugees only in passing, indicating that the issue need not be negotiated at present.

Netanyahu however reminded Obama that commitments 'from 2004 are also aimed at strengthening Israel's existence as a Jewish state through a clear statement that Palestinian refugees will be absorbed in a Palestinian state and not in Israel.'

Unlike the Netanyahu, Abbas' reaction to the speech did not go into statements Obama made or did not make.

'President Abbas stresses his appreciation to the continuing efforts being exerted by President Obama with the objective of resuming the permanent status talks in the hope of reaching a final status agreement on all core issues,' senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat told reporters in Ramallah Thursday night.

'President Abbas decided to convene an emergency session for the Palestinian leadership as soon as possible and he will consult with our Arab brothers at the same time,' Erekat added.

He did not specify what would be on the agenda of the meeting, or when it would take place.

But it is likely the meeting will centre around Obama's statement that 'symbolic actions to isolate Israel at the United Nations in September won't create an independent state.'

Abbas' threat to get the United Nations to endorse a Palestinian state comes as Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been at an impasse since the end of September last year.

In contrast to Abbas in Ramallah, the Islamist Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip was far more blunt, with Spokesman Sami Abu Zuhra declaring that 'Obama's speech about a Palestinian state is empty of content and it is just repetition of former slogans which are meaningless.'

Hamas and Abbas' Fatah party recently signed a reconciliation deal, agreeing to set up a unity government, and in his speech Obama touched on Israeli fears, noting that 'the recent announcement of an agreement between Fatah and Hamas raises profound and legitimate questions for Israel - how can one negotiate with a party that has shown itself unwilling to recognize your right to exist?'

'In the weeks and months to come, Palestinian leaders will have to provide a credible answer to that question,' Obama declared.

Abu Zuhri criticised Oabama's comments as 'American intervention in Palestinian internal affairs.'

'The population of the region is not in need of lessons on democracy. He (Obama) should teach himself these lessons amid his full support of the Israeli crimes,' Abu Zuhri said.

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