Did Bibi Accept Obama's 1967-Lines Formula?

by Gavriel Queenann

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is reported to have accepted the idea of working within guidelines of US President Barack Obama's plan on Monday, saying he would "resume peace talks based on pre-1967-lines with land swaps," according to a Channel 2 broadcast.

The borders would change and these are only parameters, but this would be the starting point for talks, an anonymous official told Reuters.

“We are willing in a framework of restarting the peace talks to accept a proposal that would contain elements that would be difficult for Israel and we would find very difficult to endorse,” the official added.

If true, the offer which emerged tonight, would represent a major climb-down by Netanyahu, who has consistently refused to discuss specific borders of a future state.

At the very least, the move is a reversal of Netanyahu's own firm position that such negotiations would be unacceptable to Israel as they could not possibly result in secure, defensible borders for the Jewish state.

A government official in Jerusalem told The Daily Telegraph the offer was dependent on the Palestinian Authority dropping their bid for statehood at the United Nations next month and accepting Israel as a Jewish state.

It is unclear what has become of Netanyahu's other conditions for negotiations, such as PA recognition of Israel as a Jewish state or a unified Jerusalem, but a senior diplomatic source said that despite the offer Israel stipulates the right to hold reservations during the talks.

When questioned by Agence France Presse, a senior Israeli official, who requested anonymity, confirmed that “Israel is ready to be flexible regarding efforts to resume a direct dialogue with the Palestinians.”

National security adviser Jacob Amidror was said to have reported that the Americans have been updated on the acceptance of Obama's formula by Israel.

PA officials said they had not received a proposal from Israel.

Gavriel Queenann

Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/146300#.TjfYgmHSmdc

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