Obama Repeats Call for Palestinian Statehood

Despite Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu’s furious reaction to Barack Obama’s call for a return to pre-1967 borders between Israel and Palestine during his Middle East speech Thursday, the president reiterated his position Sunday in remarks to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the nation’s foremost pro-Israel lobbying group. “I said that the United States believes that negotiations should result in two states, with permanent Palestinian borders with Israel, Jordan, and Egypt, and permanent Israeli borders with Palestine,” said Obama. “The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states.” The president further emphasized that “1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps” means Israel and Palestine “will negotiate a border that is different than the one that existed on June 4, 1967.”