Israeli rebuke of Obama exposes divide on Mideast

[xchrom]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/21/us-obama-mideast-netanyahu-idUSTRE74I7L720110521

(Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bluntly told President Barack Obama on Friday his vision of how to achieve Middle East peace was unrealistic, exposing a deep divide that could doom any U.S. bid to revive peace talks.

In an unusually sharp rebuke to Israel's closest ally, Netanyahu insisted Israel would never pull back to its 1967 borders -- which would mean big concessions of occupied land -- that Obama had said should be the basis for negotiations on creating a Palestinian state.

"Peace based on illusions will crash eventually on the rocks of Middle East reality," an unsmiling Netanyahu said as Obama listened intently beside him in the Oval Office after they met for talks.

Netanyahu insisted that Israel was willing to make compromises for peace, but made clear he had major differences with Washington over how to advance the long-stalled peace process.

[Historic NY]

1. Interesting but they said nothing when "W" opened his lips.....

w/o having a starting point then can be no ending. Everything is open to negotiation.

[Mr. Jefferson]

4. How do you negotiate when you do not exist?

[treestar]

2. Why not?

Why are they so damn intransigent? They have to give up something to have peace. Both sides too.

[OHdem10]

3. Does "Bibi" feel corneered so to speak. Lost friends since Arab Spring,\ie. Mubarak.

Palestine is collecting votes for UN. 182 countries
vs US and Israel, actually leaving Us and Israel isolated.

It would appear more pressure than ever, especially since
Palestine plans to ask the UN for statehood and they have
182 supporters.

[DCBob]

5. I think the President has given up on Netanyahu..

I believe the strategy is going to be to try to force him out by helping the opposition.

[Distant Observer]

6. US ME credibility is doomed as long as Israel can "rebuke" the President without paying a price

is US financial and political support.

We may think it helps us to play big boy and kill bad Muslims all over. But is doesn't.

[DCBob]

7. Give it time.. this has not played out yet..

A smart negotiator does not show all his cards at once.

[bemildred]

8. Tsk. How "diplomatic".

:sarcasm: