Tel Aviv - The Israeli political echelon was divided Monday
in response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech Sunday in
which he endorsed, albeit with conditions, the principle of a
Palestinian state.
Netanyahu, outlining his peace policies in a highly-anticipated
speech, said that Israel would accept a Palestinian state, subject to
it being demilitarized and Palestinians accepting Israel as a Jewish
state.
President Shimon Peres, one of the architects of the peace process
with the Palestinians, issued a statement after Netanyahu's address,
calling it 'true and courageous.'
Netanyahu's remarks, Peres said, 'are very important regarding the
strengthening of stability in the Middle East and constitute an
opening of direct negotiations towards both a regional peace and a
bilateral peace between Israel and the Palestinians.'
Ultra-nationalist Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, currently on
an official visit to Europe and North America, said Netanyahu's
speech combined the right of the Jewish people to a state in the Land
of Israel, with Israel's aspirations for peace.
'In his speech Netanyahu opened the door to the Palestinians and
the Arab states to immediately begin peace negotiations,' a statement
from Lieberman's office said.
Settler leaders, on the other hand, were less than happy, with
Netanyahu's remarks.
'Who knows better than Netanyahu that even a demilitarized
Palestinian state will eventually become armed and threaten Israel's
very existence,' Israel Radio quoted the Settlers' Council as saying.
Dissatisfaction was also heard within the premier's own Likud
Party. Freshman legislator Danny Danon said Netanyahu had 'gave in to
American pressure,' a reference to the US expectation that the Israel
leader publicly endorse Palestinian statehood.
Hardliners in other coalition parties expressed similar
sentiments.
Opposing them, politicians on the left and in the centre of the
Israeli political spectrum said they were pleased with what they
heard.
Minister of Social Welfare Isaac Herzog, of the centre-left Labour
Party, said the speech presented a framework for a political process
which would result in a Palestinian state while protecting Israel's
vital interests.
The centrist Kadima party, which had refused to enter into a
coalition with Netanyahu because he would not commit to a Palestinian
state when he was setting up his government, said it thought Israel
had taken a step in the right direction, but added that his true test
would come with his actions, as opposed to his statements.
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