This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/8099757.stm
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Israel sets terms for Palestinian state | |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced he will back a Palestinian state - but only if it is completely demilitarised. | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced he will back a Palestinian state - but only if it is completely demilitarised. |
| He said a Palestinian state must have no army, no control of its air space and no way of smuggling in weapons. | He said a Palestinian state must have no army, no control of its air space and no way of smuggling in weapons. |
| In the speech, weeks after the US president urged him to agree to a two-state plan, he said the Palestinians must accept Israel as a Jewish state. | |
| Palestinian leaders reacted angrily, accusing him of sabotaging peace plans. | |
| The BBC's Paul Wood says Mr Netanyahu broke ground by accepting the principle of a demilitarised Palestinian state, albeit with conditions, and this will be what the White House is looking for. | The BBC's Paul Wood says Mr Netanyahu broke ground by accepting the principle of a demilitarised Palestinian state, albeit with conditions, and this will be what the White House is looking for. |
| Any demand to resettle refugees within Israel undermines Israel as a state for the Jewish people Benjamin Netanyahu Speech: Key excerpts | |
| But our correspondent says the question is whether this will be enough to make up for the lack of movement on the issue of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. | But our correspondent says the question is whether this will be enough to make up for the lack of movement on the issue of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. |
| Mr Obama has stressed that he wants all settlement activity to stop. | Mr Obama has stressed that he wants all settlement activity to stop. |
| But in his speech at Bar-Ilan university Mr Netanyahu said settlers were not "enemies of peace" and did not move from his position of backing "natural growth" in existing settlements. | |
| Thorny issues | |
| The Israeli leader offered to talk to the Palestinians immediately and with "no preconditions". | The Israeli leader offered to talk to the Palestinians immediately and with "no preconditions". |
| "We want to live with you in peace as good neighbours," he said. | "We want to live with you in peace as good neighbours," he said. |
| Mr Netanyahu also said he was willing to go to Damascus, Riyadh and Beirut in pursuit of a Middle East peace deal. | Mr Netanyahu also said he was willing to go to Damascus, Riyadh and Beirut in pursuit of a Middle East peace deal. |
| He went on to tackle the major stumbling blocks in negotiations with Palestinians over the years. | |
| Not least was the issue of Palestinian refugees who fled Israeli territory in 1948 and 1949. | |
| The Palestinians say they and their millions of descendants have the right to return to Israel, but Israel has consistently rebuffed that demand. | |
| Mr Netanyahu stuck to a similar line, saying: "The Palestinian refugee problem must be resolved outside the borders of the state of Israel. | |
| "Any demand to resettle refugees within Israel undermines Israel as a state for the Jewish people." | |
| Another key issue the two sides have failed to agree on is the status of Jerusalem. | |
| Mr Netanyahu insisted the city must be the "united capital of Israel", although Palestinians want it divided to allow them to locate the capital of a future state there. | |
| Agreeing the principle of a Palestinian state, he said Israel would "be prepared for a true peace agreement [and] to reach a solution of a demilitarised Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state". | |
| But only if "we receive this guarantee for demilitarisation and the security arrangements required by Israel, and if the Palestinians recognise Israel as the nation of the Jewish people". | But only if "we receive this guarantee for demilitarisation and the security arrangements required by Israel, and if the Palestinians recognise Israel as the nation of the Jewish people". |
| 'Racist and extremist' | |
| Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, said the Israeli leader's speech "torpedoes all peace initiatives in the region". | |
| Another Abbas aide, Yasser Abed Rabbo, told the AFP news agency that recognition of Israel's Jewish character was a demand for Palestinians "to become part of the global Zionist movement". | |
| While the militant Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip, said the speech reflected Mr Netanyahu's "racist and extremist ideology". | |
| Are you in the Palestinian territories or Israel? What do you think of Benjamin Netanyahu's views of a Palestinian state? Send us your comments using the form below. | Are you in the Palestinian territories or Israel? What do you think of Benjamin Netanyahu's views of a Palestinian state? Send us your comments using the form below. |
| A selection of your comments may be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below. | A selection of your comments may be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below. |
| The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions | The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions |