Obama at the AIPAC conference clarifying what his reference to the 1967 lines in his speech last week meant:
“by definition, it means that the parties themselves -- Israelis and Palestinians -- will negotiate a border that is different than the one that existed on June 4, 1967”.
Indeed.
And that should have been obvious to anyone who actually read/heard what the said rather than the hysterical reaction from some quarters in Israel.
It's shocking how misleading much of the coverage has been, with many (mis)quoting him as saying Israel should return to the green line, NOT what he actually said - that the final border will be based on the Green Line "with mutual swaps". The difference is significant, with the former being unacceptable for any Israeli government and the latter being pretty much what's been on the table since 2000.
Most damaging have been the responses from opportunistic right-wingers like the reliably moronic Danny Danon comparing Obama to Yasser Arafat.
Some perspective is required. There are reasons aplenty to criticise the Obama administration's handling of the the situation over the past two years but a speech notable mainly for its condemnation of Hamas, its rejection of the Palestinian unilateral route to statehood and its clear statement that the future Palestinian state be demilitarised is not one of them.
“by definition, it means that the parties themselves -- Israelis and Palestinians -- will negotiate a border that is different than the one that existed on June 4, 1967”.
Indeed.
And that should have been obvious to anyone who actually read/heard what the said rather than the hysterical reaction from some quarters in Israel.
It's shocking how misleading much of the coverage has been, with many (mis)quoting him as saying Israel should return to the green line, NOT what he actually said - that the final border will be based on the Green Line "with mutual swaps". The difference is significant, with the former being unacceptable for any Israeli government and the latter being pretty much what's been on the table since 2000.
Most damaging have been the responses from opportunistic right-wingers like the reliably moronic Danny Danon comparing Obama to Yasser Arafat.
Some perspective is required. There are reasons aplenty to criticise the Obama administration's handling of the the situation over the past two years but a speech notable mainly for its condemnation of Hamas, its rejection of the Palestinian unilateral route to statehood and its clear statement that the future Palestinian state be demilitarised is not one of them.
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