Israel: Netanyahu disappointed in Obama proposal

Haaretz

Obama Mideast speech shows disconnect from Israel's reality, senior official says
Following U.S. President's speech in which he endorsed a Palestinian state within 1967 borders, Israeli official says Netanyahu is 'disappointed' with disregard of Israel's demands.
By Reuters and Haaretz Service

U.S. President Barack Obama does not understand the reality of Israel's situation, a senior Israeli official said on Friday, just as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington D.C. ahead of his meeting with the American president.

In a high-profile Middle East policy speech on Thursday, Obama supported continued Mideast peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians based on 1967 borders, a move which caught Israeli leaders by surprise and drew criticism from Netanyahu and his aides.

"There is a feeling that Washington does not understand the reality, doesn't understand what we face," the official said on board the plane taking Netanyahu to Washington for talks later in the day with Obama.

"The prime minister's tough response expresses the disappointment with the absence of central issues that Israel demanded, chiefly the refugee (issue)," he added.

Tensions between Israel and the U.S., already strained by a lengthy stall in Mideast peace talks, seemed to reach fever pitch following Obama's speech, and ahead of Netanyahu's planned address to Congress next week.

Earlier Friday, the New York Times reported that the American president had told his close aides that he did not believe that Netanyahu would be able to make the concessions necessary to strike a peace deal that would even the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

That comment came after Netanyahu, apparently taken aback by Obama's consent to a Palestinian state within 1967 borders, said Thursday that Israel would object to any withdrawal to "indefensible" borders, adding he expected Washington to allow it to keep major settlement blocs in any peace deal.

In a statement after Obama's speech outlining Middle East strategy, Netanyahu said before heading to Washington that "the viability of a Palestinian state cannot come at the expense of Israel's existence"

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/obama-mideast-speech-shows-disconnect-from-israel-s-reality-senior-official-says-1.363041