Embarking for US, Netanyahu says Israel will reject pressures
Prime minister sets out to discuss Iran with Washington, but Obama said to be focusing efforts on peace talks
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left for Washington Sunday for talks about the US-led peace process with the Palestinians and nuclear negotiations between world powers and Iran.
Before departing from Ben-Gurion International Airport for his “important trip to the United States,” Netanyahu took a hard line on his Monday meeting with President Barack Obama, saying he would resist “pressures” and “stand steadfast on the State of Israel’s vital interests.”
“In recent years the State of Israel has been under various pressures. We have rejected them in the face of the unprecedented storm and unrest in the region and are maintaining stability and security,” he said, referring to the three-year-old Arab Spring. “This is what has been and what will be.”
Although Netanyahu would like the talks with Obama on Monday to focus on Iran, the White House appears to have a different agenda.
“Obama will press him to agree to a framework for a conclusive round of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations that is being drafted by Secretary of State John Kerry,” The New York Times quoted senior US officials as saying this week.
Direct peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, which began last July with the goal of reaching a deal within nine months, have made no visible progress.
Kerry is now focused on getting the two sides to agree on a framework proposal which would extend the deadline until the year’s end.
Although the document has not yet been made public, it is understood to be a non-binding proposal laying out guidelines for negotiating the central issues of the conflict, such as borders, security, Jerusalem, Israeli settlements and the right of return for Palestinian refugees.
The proposal, or its outline, is likely to be presented to Netanyahu next week and to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on March 17 when he meets Obama at the White House.
Both Kerry and Netanyahu are scheduled to address the annual AIPAC conference in Washington this week.