Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu headed for talks in Washington today saying that US president Barack Obama's vision of a Palestinian state on the borders of 1967 could leave Israel "indefensible".
"The viability of a Palestinian state cannot come at the expense of Israel's existence," he said in a statement before flying to the United States for scheduled talks with Mr Obama.
Responding to a major speech by Mr Obama yesterday outlining his Middle East strategy, Mr Netanyahu said he expected Washington to let Israel keep major settlement blocs beyond the 1967 lines in the occupied West Bank, under any peace deal with Palestinians.
Israeli officials seemed taken aback by the language in Mr Obama's speech. Asked if Mr Netnayahu had been forewarned by Washington, one said: "No comment." But some Israeli reporters accompanying the prime minister predicted a stormy meeting.
Setting out the principles of a Middle East peace accord, Mr Obama reaffirmed the US commitment to Israel's security.
He called for a deal resulting in two states, Israel and Palestine, sharing the border that existed before Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war.
It would include "mutually agreed land swaps," he said. In a pointed reply, Mr Netanyahu said he expected "to hear a reaffirmation from Mr Obama of US commitments made to Israel in 2004" - an allusion to a letter by then-president George W Bush suggesting the Jewish state may keep big settlement blocs as part of any peace pact.
"Those commitments relate to Israel not having to withdraw to the 1967 lines," Mr Netanyahu added. Such a border, Mr Netanyahu said, would be "indefensible."
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas welcomed Mr Obama's efforts to renew the talks with Israel that collapsed last year, and had made plans to convene an "emergency" session of Palestinian and Arab officials to weigh further steps, a senior aide said.
Saeb Erekat, a former chief peace negotiator, said: "Abbas expresses his appreciation of the continuous efforts exerted by president Obama with the objective of resuming the permanent status talks in the hope of reaching a final status agreement."
Mr Obama's blunt language about the need to find an end to Israel's occupation of Arab land looked certain to be the crunch issue in his talks with Mr Netanyahu.
"The dream of a Jewish and democratic state cannot be fulfilled with permanent occupation," Mr Obama said.
His emphasis on 1967 borders went further than Mr Obama has before in offering principles for resolving the stalemate between Israel and the Palestinians. But he stopped short of presenting a formal US peace plan.
Mr Obama's criticism of continued Israeli "settlement activity" sent a message to Mr Netanyahu on the eve of their talks that Washington expects the Jewish state to make concessions.
A senior member of Mr Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party, Danny Danon, accused Mr Obama of seeking to destroy Israel by adopting the vision of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
"Netanyahu only has one option: to tell Obama to forget about it," Mr Danon said, according to Israeli media.
However, Mr Obama's suggestion that negotiations should focus initially on territory and security, leaving the difficult issues of Jerusalem and the return of Palestinian refugees to a later date, appeared to chime with Mr Netanyahu's own position.
Likewise, Mr Obama's firm rejection of Palestinian moves to seek recognition of their statehood at the United Nations delighted Israeli officials. Mr Abbas made no comment.
The Palestinians plan to pursue their statehood quest in September at the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly.
Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, brokered by Washington, collapsed last year when Mr Netanyahu refused to extend a moratorium on Jewish settlement-building in the West Bank and Mr Abbas refused to carry on negotiations.
In Gaza, the Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas said Mr Obama had no business criticising the recent reconciliation pact between Hamas and Mr Abbas's secular Fatah movement, intended to end a damaging four-year split and produce a unity government.
"The peoples of the region are not in need of Obama's lectures," spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said. "Obama reaffirmed his absolute support for the policies of the (Israeli) occupation and his rejection of any criticism of the occupation."
"We affirm that Palestinian reconciliation is a Palestinian affair and that the (peace) negotiations have proven to be pointless," he said. "Hamas will never recognise the Israeli occupation under any circumstances."
Reuters