Netanyahu commends Obama's UN speech
Prime minister joins Israeli officials in praising US president's General Assembly speech and says Obama 'unequivocally supports Israel as state of Jewish people', while ignoring US leader's slamming of settlements
NEW YORK – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed his satisfaction with a speech made by US President Barack Obama before the UN General Assembly, in which he said Israel and the Palestinians should renew negotiations.
"I commend this important speech of Obama's and his call to renew the peace process without preconditions. I commend his unequivocal support of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people," he said.
Earlier political officials in Jerusalem also praised the speech, in which Obama addressed Iran's nuclear program.
However, neither the officials nor Netanyahu chose to respond to the president's comments about what he called the lack of legitimacy of continued West Bank settlement building.
Israeli officials continue to stress that the suspension of the Islamic Republic's nuclear program is the international community's greatest current challenge.
"Iran continues to deceive the world and to try and buy precious time in order to realize is nuclear aspirations," one official said.
In the part of Obama's speech Israel has so far ignored he said, "The time has come to re-launch negotiations without preconditions that address the permanent-status issues: security for Israelis and Palestinians; borders, refugees and Jerusalem.
"The goal is clear: two states living side by side in peace and security -- a Jewish State of Israel, with true security for all Israelis; and a viable, independent Palestinian state with contiguous territory that ends the occupation that began in 1967, and realizes the potential of the Palestinian people. As we pursue this goal, we will also pursue peace between Israel and Lebanon, Israel and Syria, and a broader peace between Israel and its many neighbors."
The US president also said he would seek a diplomatic solution for the issues of North Korea and Iran's disputed nuclear programs.
