Netanyahu ready to agree to Palestinian state within temporary borders

[Jefferson23]

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is amenable to an interim agreement in the West Bank that would include the establishment of a Palestinian state within temporary borders. Netanyahu considers such an interim step a possible way to unfreeze the stalled political process that was created because of the Palestinian leadership's refusal to resume talks on a final settlement. However, the prime minister insists on delaying discussion on the final status of Jerusalem to the end of the process, and refuses to agree to a freeze on Jewish construction in East Jerusalem.

Netanyahu and his aides have held intensive contacts in recent days with representatives of the U.S. administration in an effort to contain the crisis in the relations between the two countries. The prime minister will meet Friday with U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell, who is visiting Jerusalem, and will continue talks that senior Israeli officials held with White House official Dan Shapiro.

There have been signals from the White House in recent days of a willingness to see an improvement in relations with Netanyahu. The signals included appeasing messages highlighting U.S. commitment to Israel's security, and peaked with President Barack Obama's Independence Day greeting. Senior aides to the president, including his chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and National Security Adviser, General James Jones, also publicly expressed their support of the strong ties between the two countries.

Both public and private pronouncements of senior figures in the U.S. and Israel suggest that the formula for bringing an end to the crisis comprises a number of elements: advancing an interim stage and a Palestinian state within temporary borders; delaying the discussion on Jerusalem, with an Israeli commitment to avoid provocations; identifying the areas in which Netanyahu and Obama differ, with construction in East Jerusalem topping the list; and a certain American toughening of its attitude toward Iran and Syria.

in full:http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1164833.html

[Recursion]

1. He wants to forestall a unilateral declaration from Fatah

Once the authority actually declares, nations will have to start deciding to recognize or not, and that's a situation Israel can't afford right now.

[Ozymanithrax]

2. It is time to declare the Palastinain nation state.

But Bibi is still a dick...