Netanyahu seeks 'demilitarised Palestine

[JohnBrowdie]

a 'demilitarised Palestine' is as likely as a palestinian state on Mars.

Netanyahu seeks 'demilitarised Palestine'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced he will back a Palestinian state - but only if it is completely demilitarised.

He said a Palestinian state must accept the existence of Israel and must have no army, no control of its air space and no way of smuggling in weapons.

Mr Netanyahu's speech comes a month after US President Barack Obama urged him to accept a two-state solution.

The Israeli leader offered to talk to the Palestinians immediately.

He said he was willing to talk with no preconditions, adding: "We want to live with you in peace as good neighbours."

Mr Netanyahu also said he was willing to go to Damascus, Riyadh and Beirut in pursuit of a Middle East peace deal.

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[JohnBrowdie]

the AP spin . . .

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time will endorse the notion of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, top aides said Sunday, giving in to heavy U.S. pressure to drop his long-standing opposition to Palestinian independence.

Netanyahu, however, will demand that the Palestinians agree not to have an army and that they recognize Israel as the Jewish state — a condition widely seen as forcing Palestinian refugees to give up their dream of returning to lost properties in Israel.

Netanyahu planned to outline his vision in a major policy speech later Sunday. "He will call for a Palestinian state without an army, side by side with the Israeli state," said Netanyahu's press secretary, Nir Hefetz. Another aide, speaking on condition of anonymity pending the speech, confirmed the details of Netanyahu's plan.

It was not clear whether Netanyahu's conditions would be acceptable to the Palestinians. In particular, they have objected to recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, saying it would amount to giving up the rights of millions of refugees and be discriminatory to Israel's own Arab minority.

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[JohnBrowdie]

that didn't take long

Palestinians: Netanyahu is 'sabatoging' peace efforts

The Palestinian Authority on Sunday criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's highly anticipated foreign policy speech, in which he called for immediate peace talks and endorsed the creation of Palestinian state without military capabilities.

An aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the speech "sabatoges" regional peace efforts, due to Netanyahu's refusal to accept an influx of Palestinian refugees into Israel and his unwillingness to compromise on the status of Jerusalem.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that Netanyahu "spoke about a Palestinian state, [but] after he removed from it the issue of Jerusalem, placed the issue of refugees outside negotiations, placed security outside negotiations when he spoke about a demilitarized Palestinian state."
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"Netanyahu tonight unilaterally ended the negotiations and there is no need for these negotiations anymore," he added.

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