Netanyahu defends speech to party hardliners
Prime minister meets with Likud ministers, MKs following major policy speech, says Labor minister praised him for saying what all believe
After having uttered the least favorite pair of words in the right-wing hemisphere, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu braced himself for an onslaught of domestic criticism on Monday as he faced his own party. But the reception he got turned out to be more lukewarm than cold.
"There are new and continuous international circumstances that compelled me, in my role as prime
minister, to make a decision," Netanyahu told the assembled Likud ministers and MKs.
"This is the policy that I have chosen," Netanyahu said, adding that the establishment of a Palestinian state is not a question for the entire world.
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"The demand for mutual recognition and demilitarization is crucial because we know what kind of place we live in," the prime minister continued, and said that it was a fundamental demand backed by the entire Israeli public.
Netanyahu shared that a minister from the Labor party thanked him for saying what Labor truly thinks but does not dare say.
Netanyahu asked for unity within the party ranks. "The American response was positive. It would be misleading to say that the road is paved, but our situation is better today than before," he said.
'Not part of the Likud's platform'
Prior to the meeting MK Tzipi Hotovely – fast becoming the symbol of right-leaning opposition to Netanyahu within Likud – praised the prime minister for talking of the historic right to the land of Israel.
She said however that hearing him use the term 'Palestinian state' was "a difficult moment" for her.
Hotovely warned that Israel "must stand strong against the Americans on the settlement issue."
Opposite Hotovely however was MK Danny Danon, also to the right of the Likud's political spectrum. "The establishment of a Palestinian state is not part of the Likud's platform," he said, chiding Netanyahu for not clearing the change of policy with the party before announcing it.
Netanyahu asked for unity within the party ranks. "The American response was positive. It would be misleading to say that the road is paved, but our situation is better today than before," he said.
