Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to depart
Israel for U.S. on Sunday • Iran nuclear program, peace talks with
Palestinians expected to top agenda of White House meeting • Letter
calls on PM to "stand firm against pressure."
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu will depart for the U.S. on Sunday
|
Photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem |
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will depart
Israel on Sunday morning for a six-day visit to the U.S. During the
trip, Netanyahu will meet U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House
in Washington. The two leaders are expected to discuss the ongoing
Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations and the nuclear talks between
world powers and Iran.
While the visit is expected to be amicable,
both Israeli and American officials are not hiding the fact that there
are differences of opinion between Netanyahu and Obama.
A point of contention between the two
regarding Iran's nuclear program is Netanyahu's demand that the U.S. and
world powers insist that Iran be prohibited from enriching uranium
within its own territory.
On the issue of the peace negotiations with
the Palestinians, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected a
present a framework document of principles next month. The U.S.-drafted
proposal, which is based on progress made in the negotiations until now,
is meant to lay the groundwork for continuing the talks and reaching a
permanent accord by 2015.
The main principles of the proposal have not
yet been presented to the two sides, but it is known that they will deal
with divisive core issues.
Kerry has been the American point man in the
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, but Obama will be re-entering the fray
with his meeting with Netanyahu on Monday. The White House announced on
Thursday that Obama will also meet with Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas on March 17.
The New York Times reported earlier this week that Obama intends to pressure Netanyahu and Abbas to accept the U.S. framework proposal.
"The parties are talking about the core
issues, including borders, security, Jerusalem, refugees, mutual
recognition, an end of conflict, and an end of claims," White House
spokesman Jay Carney said on Thursday. "We believe that the framework
will be a significant breakthrough, as it would represent a common
picture on the outlines of the final status agreement."
Meanwhile, a group of regional council heads
in Judea and Samaria and religious Zionist rabbis have a sent a letter
of support to Netanyahu, calling on him to "stand firm against pressure
to give up parts of the land of Israel."
Speaking at a Manufacturers Association
conference in Tel Aviv on Thursday ahead of his visit, Netanyahu said,
"[In the U.S.] I will discuss diplomatic and security issues, which do
not stop raging around us. I think that in the past five years we have
navigated Israel through tumultuous waters and a global and regional
storm in the best way possible -- responsibly, with prudence, all the
while warding off pressures when necessary and preserving our vital
security and economic interests. That is what we have done and will
continue to do."
The Jerusalem Post reported on Thursday that,
during negotiations with then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in 2008, Abbas
had agreed to an Israeli Jew serving as mayor of an umbrella
municipality for Jerusalem that would govern the capitals of Israel and a
Palestinian state.
During his U.S. visit, Netanyahu will meet
with WhatsApp founder Jan Koum and Apple officials. Netanyahu will also
conduct meetings with officials from other Silicon Valley companies
including Venture capital fund Sequoia, Flextronics, LinkedIn, and eBay,
among others, in an effort to increase cooperation with them.
"They speak a lot of Hebrew there [in Silicon
Valley] you know, and I want to draw our friends over there back to
Israel to invest," Netanyahu said on Thursday.
No comments:
Post a Comment