Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu did not agree with President Obama’ Request for Israel to pull its border to the borders that existed before 1967. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu swiftly rejected President Obama’s call Thursday for Israel to pull back to the borders that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War, calling those lines militarily “indefensible.”

Obama, in a sweeping address tackling the uprisings in the Middle East and the stalled peace process, stunned Washington and Jerusalem by endorsing Palestinians’ demand for their own state based on the pre-1967 borders. The break with longstanding U.S. policy appeared to immediately aggravate the Israelis, who want the borders of any future Palestinian state determined through negotiations.
In a statement released late Thursday, Netanyahu said such a withdrawal would jeopardize Israel’s security and leave major West Bank settlements outside Israeli borders.
The U.S. had previously endorsed the concept of a Palestinian state, but not the demand for permanent pre-1967 borders, with mutually agreed land swaps. The declaration comes ahead of a meeting in Washington between Obama and Netanyahu.
“The status quo is unsustainable,” Obama said. “A lasting peace will involve two states for two peoples.”

Though the shift will likely create tension as the president meets with Netanyahu and heads next to address Israel advocacy group AIPAC this weekend, Obama sought to assure that the United States’ commitment to Israeli security is “unshakable.”
He said Israeli’s right to defend itself will remain paramount, and suggested the recent unity agreement between Fatah and Hamas, which the U.S. deems a terrorist group, is problematic for negotiations. Though Israel occupied East Jerusalem, along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Six Day War, Obama said Thursday that the “future of Jerusalem” remains to be worked out, as does the fate of Palestinian refugees.
He also publicly rejected attempts by the Palestinians to gain recognition for their own state before the United Nations. “Symbolic actions to isolate Israel at the United Nations in September won’t create an independent state,” Obama said.
The border announcement, which came toward the end of the president’s 50-minute speech, was arguably the most significant statement in an address otherwise devoted to underscoring U.S. support for the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. Speaking at the State Department, the president sought to align the U.S. with the ambitions of protesters pushing for economic and political reform, while warning heads of state who resist this wave that the U.S. is losing patience.
“We cannot hesitate to stand squarely on the side of those who are reaching for their rights, knowing that their success will bring about a world that is more peaceful, more stable, and more just,” he said.
Obama, in his strongest words to date, offered an ultimatum to Syrian President Bashar Assad. “President Assad now has a choice. He can lead that transition or get out of the way,” Obama said.
He said Assad’s regime, which has killed hundreds in an effort to quell the unrest in Syria, must stop shooting and arresting its people…..

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