United States President Barack Obama's positions should be adopted by Israel, Opposition head Tzipi Livni said Sunday, in response to Obama's AIPAC speech.
“The principle of Israeli security and the need to reach the point of two national homelands, one of them the state of Israel... is primarily an Israeli interest,” she stated. She later said, “When Israel understands first and foremost what its own interests are, it can get support from any United States government.”
Livni warned that Israel needs good ties with the United States. “It is important to understand that the world is watching the relationship between Israel and the United States, especially those who still do not accept our existence here. Part of the state of Israel's power of deterrence is due to their understanding that we are working together.”
That is what makes Obama's message so important “not only for internal Israel politics, not only for internal American politics, but for the region,” she continued.
Obama's latest remarks, which included a declaration that borders of a new Arab state should be based on the “1967 lines,” do not show a change in American policy, Livni argued. “Obama is representing a long-term American policy,” she said.
She concluded, “When we wish to do so, we can enlist the support of the United States with the understanding that this is a mutual interest. This is very important for the state of Israel. For Israel's security, for its power of deterrence, and so that we can move the process forward once and for all and prevent unilateral processes in the UN.”