Obama Praises Netanyahu's Speech

U.S. President Barack Obama called Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s call for a Palestinian Authority state “an important step forward” despite across-the-board condemnation from the Arab world.

The speech was crafted for the ears of the president, whose press secretary Robert Gibbs stated, "The president is committed to two states, a Jewish state of Israel and an independent Palestine, in the historic homeland of both peoples. He believes this solution can and must ensure both Israel's security and the fulfillment of the Palestinians' legitimate aspirations for a viable state, and he welcomes Prime Minister Netanyahu's endorsement of that goal."

Prime Minister Netanyahu referred to the concept of the rights of “two peoples” and used the phrase ”Palestinian state” sparingly. Many of the conditions for a PA state are contained in the American Roadmap plan and some of them contradicted several points that President Obama raised in his speech at Cairo University nearly two weeks ago.

The most issues of conflict were the status of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and the status of Jerusalem, which the prime minister referred to as the “united capital” of Israel.

The speech at Bar-Ilan University called for continued Jewish building in existing Jewish communities until an agreement is reached, while the president called all Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria “illegitimate.” The Prime Minister called residents “our brothers and sisters” who are not “the enemies of peace.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu also insisted that a PA state, if established, be de-militarized, as stated in the Roadmap. He stressed that the PA has been the main obstacle to an agreement with Israel, pointing out that its behavior is a continuation of the Arab refusal to accept the recognition of Israel by the United Nations in 1947.

"The closer we get to an agreement with them, the further they retreat and raise demands that are inconsistent with a true desire to end the conflict," he said.