Monday, November 09, 2009

The Jerusalem Post Internet Edition PM: No gov't has been willing to do so much for peace


Nov. 9, 2009
HILARY LEILA KRIEGER and E.B. SOLOMONT in Washington , THE JERUSALEM POST

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu declared that he wanted to immediately resume negotiations with the Palestinians Monday and rejected the charge that he wasn't interested in reaching an agreement. "We need to move toward peace with a sense of urgency and a sense of purpose," Netanyahu told the Jewish Federations of North America's General Assembly during a trip to Washington. "My goal is not negotiations for the sake of negotiations; My goal is to achieve a permanent peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians, and soon. I cannot be more emphatic on this point."

Critics of Netanyahu, particularly in the Arab world, have accused the prime minister of not being sincere in his desire to reach a peace agreement which would include Israeli concessions.

Netanyahu has repeatedly stressed that he's willing to start talking, and the Israelis have been pointing to the Palestinians as setting the precondition of a total settlement freeze as holding up progress.

"But to get to a peace agreement we need to start negotiating," he said to a receptive crowd. "Let's get on with it. Let's move."

He delivered a personal message to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, urging him, "Let us seize the opportunity to reach a historic agreement."

Netanyahu also spoke of the important role the United States should play in such an effort, despite recent tensions between the US and Israel over the process and pressure on Jerusalem to take steps like halting settlements.

"With the support of the United States, peace can become a reality," Netanyahu said, ahead of a meeting with US President Barack Obama Monday night. The meeting, which was only scheduled as Netanyahu was leaving for the US capital amid questions about whether the prime minister would get a White House greeting, was announced as closed to the press.

In his GA speech, Netanyahu praised the stance the US is taking on Iran as well as on handling the controversial Goldstone Report.

He described the UN-sponsored report, which accused Israel of war crimes for its actions against Hamas in Gaza last winter, as one that "seeks to deprive us of the right to self defense" and stressed, "We are proud of the IDF. We are proud of our sons and daughters who are defending our country each day."

To deal with the threat of Iran, Netanyahu pushed for greater alternative energy technology to decrease Western dependence on oil.

"We must stop a nuclear Iran from achieving its ambitions," he emphasized, to applause.

The most extended applause came, however, when Netanyahu endorsed the principle of religious pluralism. The US Jewish community has often been at odds over the recognition of non-Orthodox streams of Judaism, which comprise the vast majority of American Jewry.

"Any Jew of any denomination will always have a right to come home to the Jewish state," he said.

Not everyone in the audience approved of the PM's delivery, however. Soon after Netanyahu began speaking, a protester held up a banner and began yelling, "Shame on you, shame on you!"

The crowd booed as the heckler was taken out of the room, shouting "Peace for all people. Peace for all people. Shame on you."

Netanyahu joked to the crowd, saying "I was better received in the UN than here."
This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1257770023064&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

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