Obama, Netanyahu: Hamas Not a Partner for Peace

May 20, 2011

President Barack Obama (r) meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House, May 20, 2011

The talks came a day after President Obama, in a major policy address on the Middle East, endorsed a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on lines existing before the 1967 Six Day War.

Obama said this must be accompanied by mutually agreed land swaps to ensure secure and recognized borders for both states under any future agreement.

Basing an eventual solution on 1967 borders has long been a U.S. position, shared by international partners, but Mr. Netanyahu reacted angrily to Obama's high-profile endorsement of it as a starting point for resuming negotiations.

After about a 90-minute delay following intense talks, President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu issued statements to reporters.

Calling their discussions "extremely constructive," Obama said it is possible to shape a deal that allows Israel to secure itself, but also allows it to resolve what he called "a wrenching issue" for both peoples for decades.

But referring to the unity accord between Fatah and Hamas, Obama said he agreed it will be very difficult for Israel to negotiate "in a serious way" with a party that refuses to acknowledge Israel's right to exist.

"Hamas has been, and is an organization that has resorted to terror, that has refused to acknowledge Israel's right to exist, it is not a partner for a significant, realistic peace process," said President Obama. "And so as I said yesterday in the speech, Palestinians are going to have to explain how they can credibly engage in serious peace negotiations in the absence of observing the Quartet principles that have been put forward previously."