He also wanted the president to rehearse the specific undertakings to Israel offered by George W Bush in 2004: that Israel would not be required to withdraw to the 1967 line, that the large settlement blocks would be annexed to Israel and that the Palestinian refugees would not return to the Jewish state.
Arguably, those positionswhich, ironically, Mr Netanyahu dismissed at the time, as they were pledged to his political foe, Ariel Sharonare enfolded within Mr Obamas reference to swaps. But the fact is that Mr Obama, whose every word was reportedly sweated over and fought over by his many Middle East advisers, forbore to spell them out.
The president had some strong medicine for the Palestinian side too. He spoke against their intention to seek a declaration of statehood at the UN General Assembly in September. Symbolic actions to isolate Israel at the United Nations in September wont create an independent state, he declared. And he warned there would be no peace if Hamas insists on a path of terror and rejection. The recent reconciliation agreement between the Fatah, led by Mahmoud Abbas, which rules on the West Bank, and the Islamist Hamas which rules over Gaza raised profound and legitimate questions for Israel, the president acknowledged. He demanded of the Palestinian leadership credible answers.
Mr Obama seemed to offer new thinking on the way to resume long-stalled negotiations. Attack territory and security first, he proposed, leaving the other two wrenching and emotional core issues of conflictJerusalem and refugeesfor a subsequent stage. oving forward now on the basis of territory and security provides a foundation to resolve those two issues in a way that is just and fair, and that respects the rights and aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians.
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