Hurriyet Daily News
Europe welcomes, Israel rejects Obama's Mideast approach
US President Barack Obama's approach to the Middle East puts the president and the Israeli PM on a collision course as ahead of their meeting in Washington. The EU, though, 'warmly welcomes' Obama's keynote policy speech, in which he failed to mention the region's largest, richest and arguably most repressive nation and recipient of billions of dollars in US military aid, Saudi Arabia
Israel has immediately rejected U.S. President Barack Obama’s call for a peace deal based on the 1967 borders as European countries expressed supported for his position regarding the conflict in the Middle East.
The Arab world meanwhile showed a mix reaction to the speech Obama gave late Thursday.
The European Union said Friday it “warmly welcomes” Obama’s call for a peace deal based on the border prior to the 1967 Middle East war.
EU foreign-policy chief Catherine Ashton “warmly welcomes President Obama’s confirmation that the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with the mutually agreed swaps, with secured and recognized borders on both sides,” her spokeswoman said.
Foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany and Poland also supported Obama’s speech on the Middle East.
The U.S. president’s remarks left him sharply at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over terms for Middle East peace ahead of a highly anticipated Oval Office meeting Friday. Netanyahu dismissed Obama’s position as “indefensible,” saying it would leave major Jewish settlements outside Israel. He then boarded a plane for his long-scheduled visit to Washington, vowing to seek clarifications in his meeting with Obama at the White House. The Israeli leader arrived in Washington early Friday.
Palestinians have responded to the speech cautiously, with Western-backed Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas calling an urgent meeting of top advisers to discuss the way forward. Obama warned in the speech that the recently concluded unity deal between Abbas’s Fatah and the Islamist Hamas movement – which is sworn to Israel’s destruction – posed “profound and legitimate questions” for Israel.
In another concession to Israel, Obama also bluntly told Palestinians that their effort to try to win recognition of statehood at the U.N. General Assembly in September would fail.
The Palestinian press praised Obama’s call regarding the borders but noted he offered no proposals to re-launch stalled talks. Gulf newspapers also had a lukewarm response Friday to the keynote Middle East policy speech, which one Saudi newspaper criticized as more “fine words.”
Egypt’s U.N. ambassador said Obama’s backing of a key Palestinian demand on the borders of its future state would help win U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state despite the U.S. president’s warning on the issue. Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf also welcomed a pledge by Obama to forgive $1 billion in Egyptian debt and provide $1 billion in aid.
Though Obama did not mention Jordan, a staunch U.S. ally that has a peace deal with Israel, Amman welcomed Obama’s call on Middle East peace.
The U.S. president’s remarks were also welcomed by the Libyan rebels. “The opposition has organized a legitimate and credible interim council” in the rebels’ eastern stronghold of Benghazi, Obama said, adding that the uprisings had shown that repression by autocratic leaders could not stifle demands for individual freedoms.
Libya, Syria and Iran
Syria said Obama’s speech offered nothing new but simply reaffirmed Washington’s staunch support for Israel and accused the U.S. of meddling after Obama said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should lead his country to democracy or “get out of the way.”
Syria’s official news agency said Obama’s speech amounted to “incitement.”
The comments by the U.S. president Thursday were his most direct warning to al-Assad, whose regime is trying to crush a popular revolt. “The U.S. president’s speech on the Middle East had nothing new as far as his country’s policies concerning the peace process, the situation in Iraq or security or regional stability are concerned,” the Syrian news agency said.
It added that Obama’s speech, carried live on Syrian television, “reaffirmed the deep-rooted and unwavering [U.S.] support for Israel’s security.”
The Libyan government described Obama as “delusional” after he said that veteran strongman Moammar Gadhafi would “inevitably” leave or be forced from power. “Obama is still delusional – he believes the lies that his own government and own media spread around the world,” government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told a Tripoli news conference.
“It’s not Obama who decides whether Gadhafi leaves Libya or not. It’s the Libyan people who decide their future,” Ibrahim said.
In his major speech responding to the protest movements sweeping the Arab world, Obama had said that “time is working against Gadhafi.”
Iran on Friday slammed Obama’s speech as a sign of “despair” and “contradictions” in Washington’s policies in the region.
“The despair, contradictions and lies are visible in the speech by Mr. Obama and his support for the Jewish state clearly shows the racist nature of U.S. policy,” said Saeed Jalili from the Supreme National Security Council, the body that sets Iran’s national security policy.
Obama failed to mention in his speech the region’s largest, richest and arguably most repressive nation and recipient of billions of dollars in U.S. military aid, Saudi Arabia.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=europe-welcomes-israel-rejects-obama8217s-mideast-approach-2011-05-20
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