Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel “will be generous” in giving back land to establish a “sizeable” Palestinian state, but will not return to the 1967 borders and will not agree to a divided Jerusalem.
Netanyahu outlined his terms for a peace agreement while addressing a joint meeting of Congress following a dispute with President Obama over the terms for a future Palestinian state.
The Israeli leader meanwhile sought to assure U.S. lawmakers Tuesday that the bond between their countries is as strong as ever.
“Israel has no better friend than America, and America has no better friend than Israel,” Netanyahu said during an address before a joint meeting of Congress.
He called his nation America’s “unwavering ally,” and said his people “will always be pro-American.”
The prime minister began his address by congratulating the U.S. on killing Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden. “Congratulations, America. Congratulations, Mr. President. You got bin Laden. Good riddance,” he said, to a standing ovation and thunderous applause.
The assurances came after Obama last week called for a two-state solution based on Israel’s borders before the 1967 Six Day War. This led to a tense meeting between the two leaders, after which Netanyahu declared those borders to be “indefensible,” a line he repeated Monday in a speech before the pro-Israel lobby. Influential U.S. lawmakers hold that same opinion and have faulted Obama for staking out his position.
But Obama has not called for a return to the exact borders Israel held before capturing east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip in June 1967. He, like the Palestinians, is open to land swaps so Israel can hold on to settlements it built after the 1967 war.
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