PM Netanyahu:  It’s my pleasure to welcome the Secretary of State of the United States, Hillary Clinton to Jerusalem.  Welcome Hillary.  You’re a great friend, a great champion of peace.  I think that we owe a vote of thanks to you, to George Mitchell, to your staffs and of course to President Obama and the entire Obama Administration for the tireless efforts to re-launch the peace process –the peace process between us and the Palestinians and between us and the Arab world following the President’s vision of a regional peace.  We’re eager to advance on both.  We think that the place to resolve outstanding issues and differences of opinion is around the negotiating table.  We think we should sit around that negotiating table right away.  We’re prepared to start peace talks immediately.  I think that what we should do on the path to peace is to simply get on it and get with it.  So I’m sure we’ll discuss these things and other things in the spirit of friendship between us and you, between Israel and the United States.  Welcome to Jerusalem.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:  Thank you so much, Prime Minister.  It is a great personal pleasure for me to be back in Jerusalem and a great honor to be here as Secretary of State once again, and I look forward to our discussion, and I appreciate the very positive words about the need to get back into a negotiation that would be in the best interests of Israel and of Israel’s security as well as create a state for the Palestinian people.  Both President Obama and I are committed to a comprehensive peace agreement because we do believe that it holds out the best promise for the security and future of Israel and for the aspirations of the Palestinians.  So I’m looking forward to our discussion tonight.  I know you’re someone who is indefatigable so even though we’re starting our meeting so late, I have no doubt that it will be intense and cover a lot of ground, and I’m very much eager to begin those discussions.

Netanyahu:  Thank you.

Ayala Hasson, Channel One:  Madam Secretary, do you think both sides should re-launch the peace process without any pre-conditions? 

Clinton:  I want to see both sides begin as soon as possible in negotiations.  We have worked and of course Senator Mitchell has worked tirelessly in setting forth what are the approaches that each side wishes to pursue in order to get into those negotiations.  So I’m not going to express my opinion as to whether or not there should be conditions.  The important thing as the Prime Minister just said is to get into the negotiations. I gave the same message today when I met with President Abbas.  We know that negotiations often take positions that then have to be worked through once the actual process starts.  I think the best way to determine the way forward is as the Prime Minister said – Get on the path.

Mark, New York Times:  Madam Secretary, when you were here in March on your first visit, you issued a strong statement condemning the demolition of housing in East Jerusalem.  Yet that demolition has continued unabated, and indeed a few days ago the Mayor of the City of Jerusalem issued a new order for demolition.  How would you characterize this policy today?

For the Prime Minister:  Sir, there’s been increasing tension as you know surrounding the Temple Mount., some civil unrest in the streets.  Every time the peace process has lagged, often matters have been settled through violence.  Are you worried that we’re heading into that phase?

And then a last question if I may. 

Clinton: That’s the New York Times for you, Mr. Prime Minister.

Netanyahu: Grab as you can.

Mark, New York Times:   I’m a little worried…. Dr Abdullah’s aides in Kabul have confirmed that he is not going to take part in the run-off.  Are you concerned that a Karzai government elected without the benefit of a run-off given all the fraud in the first round will be lacking in legitimacy?

Clinton: Well, let me say I have nothing to add to my statement in March.  I continue to stand by what I said then.  With respect to Afghanistan and Dr. Abdullah’s decision, I think that it is his decision to make.  Whatever went into that determination is obviously his choice but I do not think it affects the legitimacy.  There have been other situations in our own country as well as round the world where in a run-off election, one of the parties decides for whatever reason that they’re not going to go on. I do not think that that in any way affects the legitimacy and I would just add that when President Karzai accepted the second round without knowing what the consequences and outcome would be, that bestowed legitimacy from that moment forward and Dr. Abdullah’s decision does not in any way take away from that. 

Netanyahu: I’m concerned with the attempts to create provocations around the issue of the Temple Mount.  There are parties who are trying to do that.  I assure you that the Government of Israel is not one of them.  There are also extraordinary falsifications.  My staff decided to have a meeting – a free evening a few weeks ago.  They decided to have it in the Old City, in David’s City – there is a little restaurant there.  They said: “Could you come for dessert?” because I work long hours.  I said: “Sure.  I’ll see what I can do.  I don’t promise but we’ll make the arrangements”.  My security people went there.  Within an hour, Palestinian news agencies carried the story that Netanyahu was coming to the Old City to burrow a new tunnel under the Temple Mount.  So help me G-d.  This became an issue of great consequence.  There were rumors that the violence would break out exactly as you said.  Now this is entirely false.  I give that as one example – there are daily examples of this and daily actions by militants, particularly militant Islamic radicals who are trying to stir up trouble on the Temple Mount.  We’re going to continue our efforts to keep Jerusalem safe, open, quiet, accessible to all three great faiths – Judaism, Islam and Christianity, and the city is now very robust.  It’s got a lot of tourism as you see in the entire area and the best way to see what is happening there is to go for yourself – go take a look.  You’ll see and you’ll see our actual policy in place.  We want a peaceful Jerusalem without provocations on the Temple Mount or anywhere else.

Shmuel Tal: Madam Secretary, you went to Abu Dhabi, and I believe you came up with not much from Abu Mazen who is actually presenting with Israel and the United States….What arrangement is being made at the moment? What is your reaction to receiving the No’s from the Arab world?  The same question please to the Prime Minister.

Clinton:  Well, first of all I believe that strategic patience is a necessary part of my job, and I view the conversations that we had this morning with President Abbas and his team as being very constructive and useful in continuing the move toward engagement that leads to negotiations.  So if Senator Mitchell and I appear to be patient and persistent, it’s because we are.  We think it’s worth being both.  With respect to Iran, there is not yet a final decision with respect to the Teheran research reactor.  The important matter that I would underscore is the unity among the P5 +1 which includes not only the United States, but the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, China and also the EU in putting forth and in staying firm with this.  Now the world is united in a view that Iran should not have or acquire nuclear weapons capacity, and our view is that we are willing to work toward creative outcomes like shipping out the low-enriched uranium to be reprocessed outside of Iran, but we’re not going to wait forever.  Patience does have, finally, its limits and it is time for Iran to fulfill its obligations and responsibilities to the international community and accepting this deal would be a good beginning. 

Netanyahu: You asked two questions – one on Iran and the other on the peace process.  On Iran, I want to express our appreciation for the very clear stance adopted by President Obama that is united, as Secretary Clinton has just said, in international consensus that Iran must cease its efforts to become a nuclear military power.  I think the fact that there has been unity that has not been seen for a long time on this position is something very valuable, very important and I think it’s important not only for Israel – I think it’s important for the Middle East, for our region and for the peace of the world so I want to commend the efforts of you and President Obama and the Western and other leaders have taken here on this issue that I think is central to the future of the world, to the future of peace.  As far as the question about the peace process is concerned – look before you talk about the ‘no’s’, talk about the ‘yes’.  And I want to put rhetoric aside and talk about facts.  It’s a fact that since my government took office, we dismantled hundreds of earth blocks, checkpoints, facilitated movement in the Allenby Bridge and eliminated a lot of bureaucratic hurdles to daily life and economic activity in the Palestinian Authority’s areas and as a result there’s been a Palestinian economic boom.  That is a fact.  The second fact is that I gave a speech at Bar-Ilan University in which I said that Israel will accept the vision of two states for two peoples – a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish State of Israel.  It wasn’t easy to do but we did it – that is a fact.  The third fact is that we’ve been talking earnestly, openly and transparently to the American Administration and we’ve talked about measures that we can take to facilitate further.  The re-launching of the peace process – that is a fact too.  The simple fact is this: We are willing to engage in peace talks immediately without pre-conditions.  The other fact is that unfortunately the other side is not.  It is asking and piling on pre-conditions that it never put on in the sixteen years that we’ve had the peace process since the enunciation of the Oslo Accords.  There have not been these pre-conditions. It’s a change of Palestinian policy and I hope they chase back to the right thing which is to get into the negotiating tent.  We’re eager and sincere in our desire to reach an agreement to end this conflict.  I happen to think that we’re able to do this contrary to all the pessimists around us, but the only way we can get to an agreement is to begin negotiating it.  And that is something that we are prepared to do. And that is a fact.

Joe Klein, Time Magazine: I wanted to ask you “Why is this night different from all other nights?”

Clinton: Do you want us to burst into song?

Klein: For forty years, we’ve seen American Secretaries of State and Israeli Prime Ministers in a similar situation.  Despite the Prime Minister’s optimism, the talks are stalling. While you’ve said ‘yes’ without pre-conditions to talks, you’ve said ‘no’ to a settlement freeze….. Is the Obama Administration in favor of a total freeze? I refer the same question to the Prime Minister.

Netanyahu: Joe, the specific question you asked about the settlements also has to be put factually.  The fact of the matter is that I said that we would not build new settlements, would not expropriate land for addition for the existing settlements and that we were prepared to adopt a policy of restraint on the existing settlements, but also one that would still enable normal life for the residents who are living there.  Now there has not been, not in the last sixteen years, not forty years, but sixteen years since the beginning of the peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians any demand ever put, not on restraint, but on any limitation of settlement activity as a pre-condition for entering negotiations. This is a new thing.  Now it’s true that you can take a new thing and you can repeat it ad nauseam for a few weeks and a few months and it becomes something that is obvious and has been there all the time – it’s not been there all the time.  No, there’s not been a pre-condition for entering or continuing with the peace process between us and the Palestinians.  There’s not been a demand coming from the Palestinians that said ‘We will not negotiate with you unless you freeze all activity, something that is problematic in so many ways – judicial and other ways – I won’t get into that.   But this is a new demand, it’s a change of policy – of the Palestinian policy and it doesn’t do much for peace – it doesn’t work to advance negotiations.  It actually is used as a pretext or at least as something, as an obstacle that prevents the re-establishment of negotiations.  Now mind you, the issue of settlements and the issue of territories and the issue of borders, these will be engaged in the negotiations and they’ll have to be resolved for a peace agreement to be achieved, but you can’t resolve it in advance of the negotiations, and you certainly shouldn’t pile it on as a pre-condition. 

Clinton:  Well, I would add just for context that what the Prime Minister is saying is historically accurate.  There has never been a pre-condition, it’s always been an issue within the negotiations. What the Prime Minister has offered in specifics of a restraint on the policy of settlements which he has just described – no new starts for example, is unprecedented in the context of prior-to negotiations.  It’s also the fact that for forty years, presidents of both parties have questioned the legitimacy of settlements, but I think that where we are right now is to try to get into the negotiations.  The Prime Minister will be able to present his government’s proposal about what they are doing regarding settlements which I think when fully explained will be seen as being not only unprecedented in response to many of the concerns that have been  expressed.  You know, there are always demands made in any negotiation that are not going to be fully realized.  I mean negotiation by its very definition is a process of trying to meet the other’s needs while protecting your core interests, and on settlements there’s never been a pre-condition.  There’s never been such an offer from any Israeli government and we hope that we’ll be able to move into the negotiations where all the issues that President Obama mentioned in his speech at the United Nations will be on the table for the parties to begin to resolve. 

Netanyahu: Thank you very much

Clinton: Thank you.

 

 

 

 

PM Netanyahu's 14.6.09 Speech at the Begin-Sadat Center at Bar-Ilan University‏

 

English Translation:

Honored guests,

Citizens of Israel.

Peace has always been our people’s most ardent desire. Our prophets gave the world the vision of peace, we greet one another with wishes of peace, and our prayers conclude with the word peace.

We are gathered this evening in an institution named for two pioneers of peace, Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, and we share in their vision.

Two and half months ago, I took the oath of office as the Prime Minister of Israel. I pledged to establish a national unity government – and I did. I believed and I still believe that unity was essential for us now more than ever as we face three immense challenges – the Iranian threat, the economic crisis, and the advancement of peace.

The Iranian threat looms large before us, as was further demonstrated yesterday. The greatest danger confronting Israel, the Middle East, the entire world and human race, is the nexus between radical Islam and nuclear weapons. I discussed this issue with President Obama during my recent visit to Washington, and I will raise it again in my meetings next week with European leaders. For years, I have been working tirelessly to forge an international alliance to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Confronting a global economic crisis, the government acted swiftly to stabilize Israel’s economy. We passed a two year budget in the government – and the Knesset will soon approve it.

And the third challenge, so exceedingly important, is the advancement of peace. I also spoke about this with President Obama, and I fully support the idea of a regional peace that he is leading.

I share the President’s desire to bring about a new era of reconciliation in our region. To this end, I met with President Mubarak in Egypt, and King Abdullah in Jordan, to elicit the support of these leaders in expanding the circle of peace in our region.

I turn to all Arab leaders tonight and I say: “Let us meet. Let us speak of peace and let us make peace. I am ready to meet with you at any time. I am willing to go to Damascus, to Riyadh, to Beirut, to any place- including Jerusalem.

I call on the Arab countries to cooperate with the Palestinians and with us to advance an economic peace. An economic peace is not a substitute for a political peace, but an important element to achieving it. Together, we can undertake projects to overcome the scarcities of our region, like water desalination or to maximize its advantages, like developing solar energy, or laying gas and petroleum lines, and transportation links between Asia, Africa and Europe.

The economic success of the Gulf States has impressed us all and it has impressed me. I call on the talented entrepreneurs of the Arab world to come and invest here and to assist the Palestinians – and us – in spurring the economy.

Together, we can develop industrial areas that will generate thousands of jobs and create tourist sites that will attract millions of visitors eager to walk in the footsteps of history – in Nazareth and in Bethlehem, around the walls of Jericho and the walls of Jerusalem, on the banks of the Sea of Galilee and the baptismal site of the Jordan.

There is an enormous potential for archeological tourism, if we can only learn to cooperate and to develop it.

I turn to you, our Palestinian neighbors, led by the Palestinian Authority, and I say: Let’s begin
negotiations immediately without preconditions.

Israel is obligated by its international commitments and expects all parties to keep their commitments.

We want to live with you in peace, as good neighbors. We want our children and your children to never again experience war: that parents, brothers and sisters will never again know the agony of losing loved ones in battle; that our children will be able to dream of a better future and realize that dream; and that together we will invest our energies in plowshares and pruning hooks, not swords and spears.

I know the face of war. I have experienced battle. I lost close friends, I lost a brother. I have seen the pain of bereaved families. I do not want war. No one in Israel wants war.

If we join hands and work together for peace, there is no limit to the development and prosperity we can achieve for our two peoples – in the economy, agriculture, trade, tourism and education - most importantly, in providing our youth a better world in which to live, a life full of tranquility, creativity, opportunity and hope.

If the advantages of peace are so evident, we must ask ourselves why peace remains so remote, even as our hand remains outstretched to peace? Why has this conflict continued for more than sixty years?

In order to bring an end to the conflict, we must give an honest and forthright answer to the question: What is the root of the conflict?

In his speech to the first Zionist Conference in Basel, the founder of the Zionist movement, Theodore Herzl, said about the Jewish national home “This idea is so big that we must speak of it only in the simplest terms.” Today, I will speak about the immense challenge of peace in the simplest words possible.

Even as we look toward the horizon, we must be firmly connected to reality, to the truth. And the simple truth is that the root of the conflict was, and remains, the refusal to recognize the right of the Jewish people to a state of their own, in their historic homeland.

In 1947, when the United Nations proposed the partition plan of a Jewish state and an Arab state, the entire Arab world rejected the resolution. The Jewish community, by contrast, welcomed it by dancing and rejoicing.

The Arabs rejected any Jewish state, in any borders.

Those who think that the continued enmity toward Israel is a product of our presence in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, is confusing cause and consequence.

The attacks against us began in the 1920s, escalated into a comprehensive attack in 1948 with the declaration of Israel’s independence, continued with the fedayeen attacks in the 1950s, and climaxed in 1967, on the eve of the six-day war, in an attempt to tighten a noose around the neck of the State of Israel.

All this occurred during the fifty years before a single Israeli soldier ever set foot in Judea and Samaria .

Fortunately, Egypt and Jordan left this circle of enmity. The signing of peace treaties have brought about an end to their claims against Israel, an end to the conflict. But to our regret, this is not the case with the Palestinians. The closer we get to an agreement with them, the further they retreat and raise demands that are inconsistent with a true desire to end the conflict.

Many good people have told us that withdrawal from territories is the key to peace with the Palestinians. Well, we withdrew. But the fact is that every withdrawal was met with massive waves of terror, by suicide bombers and thousands of missiles.

We tried to withdraw with an agreement and without an agreement. We tried a partial withdrawal and a full withdrawal. In 2000 and again last year, Israel proposed an almost total withdrawal in exchange for an end to the conflict, and twice our offers were rejected.

We evacuated every last inch of the Gaza strip, we uprooted tens of settlements and evicted thousands of Israelis from their homes, and in response, we received a hail of missiles on our cities, towns and children.

The claim that territorial withdrawals will bring peace with the Palestinians, or at least advance peace, has up till now not stood the test of reality.

In addition to this, Hamas in the south, like Hezbollah in the north, repeatedly proclaims their commitment to “liberate” the Israeli cities of Ashkelon, Beersheba, Acre and Haifa.

Territorial withdrawals have not lessened the hatred, and to our regret, Palestinian moderates are not yet ready to say the simple words: Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people, and it will stay that way.

Achieving peace will require courage and candor from both sides, and not only from the Israeli side.

The Palestinian leadership must arise and say: “Enough of this conflict. We recognize the right of the Jewish people to a state of their own in this land, and we are prepared to live beside you in true peace.”

I am yearning for that moment, for when Palestinian leaders say those words to our people and to their people, then a path will be opened to resolving all the problems between our peoples, no matter how complex they may be.

Therefore, a fundamental prerequisite for ending the conflict is a public, binding and unequivocal Palestinian recognition of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.

To vest this declaration with practical meaning, there must also be a clear understanding that the Palestinian refugee problem will be resolved outside Israel’s borders. For it is clear that any demand for resettling Palestinian refugees within Israel undermines Israel’s continued existence as the state of the Jewish people.

The Palestinian refugee problem must be solved, and it can be solved, as we ourselves proved in a similar situation. Tiny Israel successfully absorbed tens of thousands of Jewish refugees who left their homes and belongings in Arab countries.

Therefore, justice and logic demand that the Palestinian refugee problem be solved outside Israel’s borders. On this point, there is a broad national consensus. I believe that with goodwill and international investment, this humanitarian problem can be permanently resolved.

So far I have spoken about the need for Palestinians to recognize our rights. In am moment, I will speak openly about our need to recognize their rights.

But let me first say that the connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel has lasted for more than 3500 years. Judea and Samaria, the places where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, David and Solomon, and Isaiah and Jeremiah lived, are not alien to us. This is the land of our forefathers.

The right of the Jewish people to a state in the land of Israel does not derive from the catastrophes that have plagued our people. True, for 2000 years the Jewish people suffered expulsions, pogroms, blood libels, and massacres which culminated in a Holocaust - a suffering which has no parallel in human history.

There are those who say that if the Holocaust had not occurred, the state of Israel would never have been established. But I say that if the state of Israel would have been established earlier, the Holocaust would not have occurred.

This tragic history of powerlessness explains why the Jewish people need a sovereign power of self-defense.

But our right to build our sovereign state here, in the land of Israel, arises from one simple fact: this is the homeland of the Jewish people, this is where our identity was forged.

As Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion proclaimed in Israel’s Declaration of Independence: “The Jewish people arose in the land of Israel and it was here that its spiritual, religious and political character was shaped. Here they attained their sovereignty, and here they bequeathed to the world their national and cultural treasures, and the most eternal of books.”

But we must also tell the truth in its entirety: within this homeland lives a large Palestinian community. We do not want to rule over them, we do not want to govern their lives, we do not want to impose either our flag or our culture on them.

In my vision of peace, in this small land of ours, two peoples live freely, side-by-side, in amity and mutual respect. Each will have its own flag, its own national anthem, its own government. Neither will threaten the security or survival of the other.

These two realities – our connection to the land of Israel, and the Palestinian population living within it – have created deep divisions in Israeli society. But the truth is that we have much more that unites us than divides us.

I have come tonight to give expression to that unity, and to the principles of peace and security on which there is broad agreement within Israeli society. These are the principles that guide our policy.

This policy must take into account the international situation that has recently developed. We must recognize this reality and at the same time stand firmly on those principles essential for Israel.

I have already stressed the first principle – recognition. Palestinians must clearly and unambiguously recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people. The second principle is: demilitarization. The territory under Palestinian control must be demilitarized with ironclad security provisions for Israel.

Without these two conditions, there is a real danger that an armed Palestinian state would emerge that would become another terrorist base against the Jewish state, such as the one in Gaza.

We don’t want Kassam rockets on Petach Tikva, Grad rockets on Tel Aviv, or missiles on Ben-Gurion airport. We want peace.

In order to achieve peace, we must ensure that Palestinians will not be able to import missiles into their territory, to field an army, to close their airspace to us, or to make pacts with the likes of Hezbollah and Iran. On this point as well, there is wide consensus within Israel.

It is impossible to expect us to agree in advance to the principle of a Palestinian state without assurances that this state will be demilitarized.

On a matter so critical to the existence of Israel, we must first have our security needs addressed.

Therefore, today we ask our friends in the international community, led by the United States, for what is critical to the security of Israel: Clear commitments that in a future peace agreement, the territory controlled by the Palestinians will be demilitarized: namely, without an army, without control of its airspace, and with effective security measures to prevent weapons smuggling into the territory – real monitoring, and not what occurs in Gaza today. And obviously, the Palestinians will not be able to forge military pacts.


Without this, sooner or later, these territories will become another Hamastan. And that we cannot accept.

I told President Obama when I was in Washington that if we could agree on the substance, then the terminology would not pose a problem.

And here is the substance that I now state clearly:

If we receive this guarantee regarding demilitirization and Israel’s security needs, and if the Palestinians recognize Israel as the State of the Jewish people, then we will be ready in a future peace agreement to reach a solution where a demilitarized Palestinian state exists alongside the Jewish state.

Regarding the remaining important issues that will be discussed as part of the final settlement, my positions are known: Israel needs defensible borders, and Jerusalem must remain the united capital of Israel with continued religious freedom for all faiths.

The territorial question will be discussed as part of the final peace agreement. In the meantime, we have no intention of building new settlements or of expropriating additional land for existing settlements.

But there is a need to enable the residents to live normal lives, to allow mothers and fathers to raise their children like families elsewhere. The settlers are neither the enemies of the people nor the enemies of peace. Rather, they are an integral part of our people, a principled, pioneering and Zionist public.

Unity among us is essential and will help us achieve reconciliation with our neighbors. That reconciliation must already begin by altering existing realities. I believe that a strong Palestinian economy will strengthen peace.


If the Palestinians turn toward peace – in fighting terror, in strengthening governance and the rule of law, in educating their children for peace and in stopping incitement against Israel - we will do our part in making every effort to facilitate freedom of movement and access, and to enable them to develop their economy. All of this will help us advance a peace treaty between us.

Above all else, the Palestinians must decide between the path of peace and the path of Hamas. The Palestinian Authority will have to establish the rule of law in Gaza and overcome Hamas. Israel will not sit at the negotiating table with terrorists who seek their destruction.

Hamas will not even allow the Red Cross to visit our kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, who has spent three years in captivity, cut off from his parents, his family and his people. We are committed to bringing him home, healthy and safe.

With a Palestinian leadership committed to peace, with the active participation of the Arab world, and the support of the United States and the international community, there is no reason why we cannot achieve a breakthrough to peace.

Our people have already proven that we can do the impossible. Over the past 61 years, while constantly defending our existence, we have performed wonders.

Our microchips are powering the world’s computers. Our medicines are treating diseases once considered incurable. Our drip irrigation is bringing arid lands back to life across the globe. And Israeli scientists are expanding the boundaries of human knowledge.

If only our neighbors would respond to our call – peace too will be in our reach.

I call on the leaders of the Arab world and on the Palestinian leadership, let us continue together on the path of Menahem Begin and Anwar Sadat, Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein. Let us realize the vision of the prophet Isaiah, who in Jerusalem 2700 years ago said: “nations shall not lift up sword against nation, and they shall learn war no more.”

With God’s help, we will know no more war. We will know peace.

 

 

 

 

 

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Speech at the Knesset Special Session

27/05/2009     Mr. Speaker of the Knesset, My friends, Members of Knesset, This government began its tenure seven weeks ago at the height of an unprecedented, severe global economic crisis, which hadn’t yet been dealt with.  Our goal was first and foremost to bring about stability.  Our goal was to pass the Government Budget within six weeks – and we did so.  Our goal was to pass a budget for the next two years to convey that same stability – and we did this as well.  Our goal was to obtain an economic package deal with the employers and the Labor Federation – and we did so – in order to unite our forces and prevent crises and work conflicts at a time when the economy was under attack.  Our goal in the government was to quickly pass historic reforms in the Israel Lands Authority – and we did this too.  I will ask for your assistance later in terms of legislation.  Our goal was to create broad unity – as broad as possible – with those who wanted unity, and we did this as well.  All these were the right things to do in order to produce stability and growth in the Israeli economy in the face of the previously untended global economic crisis.  However, we had another goal, and I think those people who were in the government ministries, in the corridors of power, knew how hard it was.  Our goal was to achieve the right balance at this time between two enormous and opposing needs: the needs of society and the economy on the one hand, and our security needs on the other.  Both these needs stem from unique situations.  We had to introduce this balance in this budget – and we did so. My friends, Members of Knesset, We do not live in ordinary times.  You all know this, even if you do not say so, even if you only cry out in your hearts, you know – these are not ordinary times.  Because we do not just face an unprecedented economic crisis, as all the nations of the world do – and we are weathering it better than most countries.  I am not the only one who says this.  I suggest that you speak with the Governor of the Bank of Israel, but also with other experts.  In addition to the economic crisis that we and other countries face, we also face special security challenges that no other country has to face.  I believe that, especially now, unity is needed.  It obligates us all, coalition and opposition, to rise above our normal factionalism.  There is everyday factionalism; there are also extraordinary moments during which we need to unite our forces, and we will have to do so in the future because we have a shared responsibility for the future of the State of Israel.  I said it before and I will say it again – the most dangerous thing a peace-loving people can do is not recognize an existential danger in time.  Many peoples in history have disappeared as a result of this shortcoming, and our people also paid an unbearable price for this.  The leadership, any leadership, must first and foremost recognize the dangers and prepare for them.  My responsibility is first and foremost to take care of Israel’s security and ensure its future.  This obligates determining orders of priority and making decisions, and at times these decisions are not easy ones.  My duty as prime minister is sometimes to subordinate the orders of priority – not just sometimes, but always to subordinate the orders of priority to the existential needs of Israel, and I will not hesitate to do so.   Just as we must recognize the dangers and prepare for them, we must also recognize opportunities and act to realize them.  Today, for the first time in all our lives, the Arab governments – or most of them in any event – recognize that they face the same threat as Israel.  On the eve of my visit to Washington, it was clear to me that the most important mission at that moment was to reach agreements with the new president of the United States and the new administration in Washington regarding the nuclearization of Iran – and we met this goal as well.  In my meetings in Washington, my position was that the greatest danger Israel and the entire world faces is Iran’s efforts to develop military nuclear capability, and I greatly appreciate the fact that the Obama administration accepted this position with understanding.  Furthermore, I would like to tell the members of Knesset that we reaffirmed understandings with the United States regarding the most essential matters of our national security, and we also reached concrete and important achievements in the field of security.

Address by PM Netanyahu on the occasion of Jerusalem Day State Ceremony, Ammunition Hill, Jerusalem

Translation 21/05/2009 Photo by GPO Honorable President, Mr. Shimon Peres, Honorable Speaker of the Knesset, Mr. Reuven Rivlin, President of the Supreme Court, Justice Dorit Beinish, Ministers, Members of Knesset, Chairman of the Opposition, Israel's Chief Rabbi, Yona Metzger, Chief of the General Staff, Maj. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, Dear Bereaved Families, IDF Fighters and their Families, Distinguished Guests, Last night I returned to Jerusalem, our capital, from a very important visit to Washington, capital of the United States.  It was very important for me to come back to participate in this ceremony and say the same things I said in the United States: United Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.  Jerusalem has always been – and always will be – ours.  It will never again be divided or cut in half.  Jerusalem will remain only under Israel's sovereignty.  In united Jerusalem, the freedom of worship and freedom of access for all three religions to the holy sites will be guaranteed, and it is the only way to guarantee that members of all faiths, minorities and denominations can continue living here safely. Distinguished guests, For nineteen years Jerusalem was a wounded city; a city at the heart of which were barbed wires and minefields, firing posts and "no-man's lands"; a city whose main streets were covered with defensive walls against snipers; a city whose residents could not move freely from place to place. In June 1967, this situation changed forever. It changed in this place, on Ammunition Hill, and in other heroic battles inside Jerusalem. You, fighters for the liberation of Jerusalem, with your bodies and with the blood of your comrades, pried open the chokehold, united the city together, and allowed Jerusalem to be reopened once again as a lively, vibrant city. I enlisted shortly after the liberation of Jerusalem and I met with one of the fighters, who is here with us today, Nir Nitzan. He did not voluntarily tell us; we had to repeatedly ask him to tell us what happened here, in that battle. Ultimately, quietly, shortly, dryly even, he told us a little of what took place here on that day, and we, as youngsters, stood in awe of the greatness of spirit, solidarity and sacrifice of those fighters who fought here, and the many others who fought in other places.  The fighters who fell instilled pride in our people and gave us back our capital.  As a boy, that day was etched in my memory.  I remember the elation following the words of Motta Gur, when we heard the news on the radio and Motta Gur announced: "Har Habayit is in our hands!" The excitement we felt was something neither we nor any other Jew experienced for generations. It lifted the hearts of Jews all over the world. Another remarkable thing happened: thousands, thousands of Israeli citizens, not only from Jerusalem, but from all over the country, rushed in masses into the Old City, passing through roads that were previously blocked, places we were never allowed to set foot in, through barbed wires, along the now shattered separation walls, climbing rocks and entering into back alleys – all of us heading towards the same place: the Western Wall. I remember that the square was narrow – in fact, there was no square at all – and the place was too narrow to contain the large masses, and each of us waited our turn to arrive at that ancient wall. I remember the beating of my heart and the exhilaration I felt when I first touched the stones of the Western Wall, thinking about King David, King Solomon, Israel's prophets and kings and the Maccabim. I thought about the people of Israel throughout the generations, as did the thousands of Israelis who arrived there.  The liberation of Jerusalem and the Western Wall marked for all of us the deep connection to the roots of Jewish history.  We felt that the dream of generations had finally come true. Thousands of years ago, a Psalms poet wrote: "built-up Jerusalem is like a city that is united together". It is as if this song was written now about the events of our generation. Look around you and see how Jerusalem is built, how it is connected, how it grows and develops to the east and west, north and south.  Jews, Muslims and Christians, religious and secular, ultra-orthodox and conservatives live here in peace and good neighborly relations. Look around you and see how vibrant and full of life Jerusalem is, during the day and night.  The houses of prayer and synagogues are filled, as are the cafés and recreational places. But Jerusalem is not only a city of the day-to-day or night life.  It is first and foremost a city of sanctity, a city of vision, a city of prayer; the eyes of the entire world are fixed on Jerusalem.  As Isaiah prophesized: "it will happen in the end of days: The mountain of the Temple of the Almighty will be firmly established as the head of the mountains, and it will be exalted above the hills, and all the nations will stream to it…for from Zion will the Torah come forth, and the word of the Almighty from Jerusalem". Since the unification of Jerusalem under Israel's flag, this prophecy has been gradually coming true.  Never, in the thousands of years of its history, has Jerusalem been so great and remarkable, never did it have such freedom of worship for members of all faiths and such free access to all places of worship.  Pilgrims, believers and visitors from all ends of the universe visit Jerusalem every day. Our connection to Jerusalem is thousands of years old.  As a people, we have never relinquished "the apple of our eye", the object of our prayers, our nation's capital, Jerusalem.  Today, as a state, we are fulfilling this age-old yearning, this ancient wish. The greatest hardships, exiles and difficulties in history could never dissuade us from pursuing the realization of the Jewish people's dream of generations – the establishment of a state in the land of Israel, with Jerusalem as its capital.  This was the wish of every Jew in exile, at every community and in every prayer: "next year in built-up Jerusalem".  I believe that only the reuniting of Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty would enable us to quickly fulfill the second part of Isaiah's prophecy: "they shall beat their swords into plowshares…nation will not lift sword against nation and they will no longer learn how to wage warfare". This is our prayer, and this is our hope here in Jerusalem.

 

Following is the exact 20,211 word press release

from The Whtie House yesterday.

 

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
_________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                May 18, 2009

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT OBAMA
AND PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU OF ISRAEL
IN PRESS AVAILABILITY

Oval Office

1:21 P.M. EDT

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Well, listen, I first of all want to thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for making this visit.  I think we had a extraordinarily productive series of conversations, not only between the two of us but also at the staff and agency levels.

Obviously this reflects the extraordinary relationship, the special relationship between the United States and Israel.  It is a stalwart ally of the United States.  We have historical ties, emotional ties.  As the only true democracy of the Middle East it is a source of admiration and inspiration for the American people.

I have said from the outset that when it comes to my policies towards Israel and the Middle East that Israel’s security is paramount, and I repeated that to Prime Minister Netanyahu.  It is in U.S. national security interests to assure that Israel’s security as an independent Jewish state is maintained.

One of the areas that we discussed is the deepening concern

around the potential pursuit of a nuclear weapon by Iran.  It’s something the Prime Minister has been very vocal in his concerns about, but is a concern that is shared by his countrymen and women across the political spectrum.

I indicated to him the view of our administration, that Iran is a country of extraordinary history and extraordinary potential, that we want them to be a full-fledged member of the international community and be in a position to provide opportunities and prosperity for their people, but that the way to achieve those goals is not through the pursuit of a nuclear weapon.  And I indicated to Prime Minister Netanyahu in private what I have said publicly, which is that Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon would not only be a threat to Israel and a threat to the United States, but would be profoundly destabilizing in the international community as a whole and could set off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that would be extraordinarily dangerous for all concerned, including for Iran.

We are engaged in a process to reach out to Iran and persuade them that it is not in their interest to pursue a nuclear weapon and that they should change course.  But I assured the Prime Minister that we are not foreclosing a range of steps, including much stronger international sanctions, in assuring that Iran understands that we are serious.  And obviously the Prime Minister emphasized his seriousness around this issue as well -- I’ll allow him to speak for himself on that subject.

We also had an extensive discussion about the possibilities of restarting serious negotiations on the issue of Israel and the Palestinians.  I have said before and I will repeat again that it is I believe in the interest not only of the Palestinians, but also the Israelis and the United States and the international community to achieve a two-state solution in which Israelis and Palestinians are living side by side in peace and security.

We have seen progress stalled on this front, and I suggested to the Prime Minister that he has an historic opportunity to get a serious movement on this issue during his tenure.  That means that all the parties involved have to take seriously obligations that they’ve previously agreed to.  Those obligations were outlined in the road map; they were discussed extensively in Annapolis.  And I think that we can -- there is no reason why we should not seize this opportunity and this moment for all the parties concerned to take seriously those obligations and to move forward in a way that assures Israel’s security, that stops the terrorist attacks that have been such a source of pain and hardship, that we can stop rocket attacks on Israel; but that also allow Palestinians to govern themselves as an independent state, that allows economic development to take place, that allows them to make serious progress in meeting the aspirations of their people.

And I am confident that in the days, weeks and months to come we are going to be able to make progress on that issue.

So let me just summarize by saying that I think Prime Minister Netanyahu has the benefit of having served as Prime Minister previously.  He has both youth and wisdom --

PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU:  I’ll dispute youth, but -- (laughter.)

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  -- and I think is in a position to achieve the security objectives of Israel, but also bring about historic peace.  And I’m confident that he’s going to seize this moment.  And the United States is going to do everything we can to be constructive, effective partners in this process.

PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU:  President Obama, thank you.  Thank you for your friendship to Israel and your friendship to me.  You’re a great leader -- a great leader of the United States, a great leader of the world, a great friend of Israel, and someone who is acutely cognizant of our security concerns.  And the entire people of Israel appreciate it, and I speak on their behalf.

We met before, but this is the first time that we’re meeting as President and Prime Minister.  So I was particularly pleased at your reaffirmation of the special relationship between Israel and the United States.  We share the same goals and we face the same threats.  The common goal is peace.  Everybody in Israel, as in the United States, wants peace.  The common threat we face are terrorist regimes and organizations that seek to undermine the peace and endanger both our peoples.

In this context, the worst danger we face is that Iran would develop nuclear military capabilities.  Iran openly calls for our destruction, which is unacceptable by any standard.  It threatens the moderate Arab regimes in the Middle East.  It threatens U.S. interests worldwide.  But if Iran were to acquire nuclear weapons, it could give a nuclear umbrella to terrorists, or worse, it could actually give terrorists nuclear weapons.  And that would put us all in great peril.

So in that context, I very much appreciate, Mr. President, your firm commitment to ensure that Iran does not develop nuclear military capability, and also your statement that you’re leaving all options on the table.

I share with you very much the desire to move the peace process forward.  And I want to start peace negotiations with the Palestinians immediately.  I would like to broaden the circle of peace to include others in the Arab world, if we could, Mr. President, so -- this (inaudible) that one shouldn’t let go, maybe peace with the entire Arab world.

I want to make it clear that we don’t want to govern the Palestinians.  We want to live in peace with them.  We want them to govern themselves, absent a handful of powers that could endanger the state of Israel.  And for this there has to be a clear goal.  The goal has to be an end to conflict.  There will have to be compromises by Israelis and Palestinians alike.  We’re ready to do our share.  We hope the Palestinians will do their share, as well.  If we resume negotiations, as we plan to do, then I think that the Palestinians will have to recognize Israel as a Jewish state; will have to also enable Israel to have the means to defend itself.  And if those conditions are met, Israel’s security conditions are met, and there’s recognition of Israel’s legitimacy, its permanent legitimacy, then I think we can envision an arrangement where Palestinians and Israelis live side by side in dignity, in security, and in peace.

And I look forward, Mr. President, to working with you, a true friend of Israel, to the achievement of our common goals, which are security, prosperity, and above all, peace.

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Thank you.  We’re going to take a couple of questions.  We’re going to start with Steve.

Q    Mr. President, you spoke at length, as did the Prime Minister, about Iran’s nuclear program.  Your program of engagement, policy of engagement, how long is that going to last?  Is there a deadline?

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  You know, I don’t want to set an artificial deadline.  I think it’s important to recognize that Iran is in the midst of its own elections.  As I think all of you, since you’re all political reporters, are familiar with, election time is not always the best time to get business done.

Their elections will be completed in June, and we are hopeful that, at that point, there is going to be a serious process of engagement, first through the P5-plus-one process that’s already in place, potentially through additional direct talks between the United States and Iran.

I want to reemphasize what I said earlier, that I believe it is not only in the interest of the international community that Iran not develop nuclear weapons, I firmly believe it is in Iran’s interest not to develop nuclear weapons, because it would trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East and be profoundly destabilizing in all sorts of ways.  Iran can achieve its interests of security and international respect and prosperity for its people through other means, and I am prepared to make what I believe will be a persuasive argument, that there should be a different course to be taken.

The one thing we’re also aware of is the fact that the history, of least, of negotiation with Iran is that there is a lot of talk but not always action and follow-through.  And that’s why it is important for us, I think, without having set an artificial deadline, to be mindful of the fact that we’re not going to have talks forever.  We’re not going to create a situation in which talks become an excuse for inaction while Iran proceeds with developing a nuclear -- and deploying a nuclear weapon.  That’s something, obviously, Israel is concerned about, but it’s also an issue of concern for the United States and for the international community as a whole.

My expectation would be that if we can begin discussions soon, shortly after the Iranian elections, we should have a fairly good sense by the end of the year as to whether they are moving in the right direction and whether the parties involved are making progress and that there’s a good faith effort to resolve differences.  That doesn’t mean every issue would be resolved by that point, but it does mean that we’ll probably be able to gauge and do a reassessment by the end of the year of this approach.

Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  Aren’t you concerned that your outstretched hand has been interpreted by extremists, especially Ahmadinejad, Nasrallah, Meshal, as weakness?  And since my colleague already asked about the deadline, if engagement fails, what then, Mr. President?

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Well, it’s not clear to me why my outstretched hand would be interpreted as weakness.

Q    Qatar, an example.

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  I’m sorry?

Q    The example of Qatar.  They would have preferred to be on your side and then moved to the extremists, to Iran.

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Oh, I think -- yes, I’m not sure about that interpretation.  Look, we’ve been in office a little over a hundred days now -- close to four months.  We have put forward a clear principle that where we can resolve issues through negotiations and diplomacy, we should.  We didn’t expect -- and I don’t think anybody in the international community or anybody in the Middle East, for that matter -- would expect that 30 years of antagonism and suspicion between Iran and the United States would be resolved in four months.  So we think it’s very important for us to give this a chance.

Now, understand that part of the reason that it’s so important for us to take a diplomatic approach is that the approach that we’ve been taking, which is no diplomacy, obviously has not worked.  Nobody disagrees with that.  Hamas and Hezbollah have gotten stronger.  Iran has been pursuing its nuclear capabilities undiminished.  And so not talking -- that clearly hasn’t worked.  That’s what’s been tried.  And so what we’re going to do is try something new, which is actually engaging and reaching out to the Iranians.

The important thing is to make sure that there is a clear timetable of -- at which point we say these talks don’t seem to be making any serious progress.  It hasn’t been tried before so we don’t want to prejudge that, but as I said, by the end of the year I think we should have some sense as to whether or not these discussions are starting to yield significant benefits, whether we’re starting to see serious movement on the part of the Iranians.

If that hasn’t taken place, then I think the international community will see that it’s not the United States or Israel or other countries that are seeking to isolate or victimize Iran; rather, it is Iran itself which is isolating itself by willing to -- being unwilling to engage in serious discussions about how they can preserve their security without threatening other people’s security -- which ultimately is what we want to achieve.

We want to achieve a situation where all countries in the region can pursue economic development and commercial ties and trade and do so without the threat that their populations are going to be subject to bombs and destruction.

That’s what I think the Prime Minister is interested in, that’s what I’m interested in, and I hope that ends up being what the ruling officials in Iran are interested in, as well.

Don Gonyea.  Where’s Gonyea?

Q    Right here.  Thank you.  Mr. President and Mr. Prime Minister, can you each react to King Abdullah’s statement of a week ago that we really are at a critical place in the conflict and that if this moment isn’t seized and if a peace isn’t achieved now, soon, that in a year, year and a half, we could see renewed major conflict, perhaps war?  And do you agree with that assessment?

PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU:  I think we have to seize the moment and I think we’re fortunate in having a leader like President Obama and a new government in Israel and perhaps a new understanding in the Arab world that I haven’t seen in my lifetime.  And you’re very kind to be calling me young, but I’m more than half a century old and in my 59 years in the life of the Jewish state, there’s never been a time when Arabs and Israelis see a common threat the way we see it today and also see the need to join together in working towards peace while simultaneously defending ourselves against this common threat.

I think we have -- we have ways to capitalize on this sense of urgency and we’re prepared to move with the President and with others in the Arab world if they’re prepared to move, as well.  And I think the important thing that we discussed, among other things, is how to buttress the Israeli-Palestinian peace tracks, which we want to resume right away, with participation from others in the Arab world; how we give confidence to each other that would -- changes the reality, it changes the reality on the ground, changing political realities top-down, as well, while we work to broaden the circle of peace.

And I think that the sense of urgency that King Abdullah expressed is shared by me and shared by many others and I definitely know it’s shared by President Obama.

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Look, I think there’s an extraordinary opportunity and the Prime Minister said it well.  You have Arab states in the region -- the Jordanians, the Egyptians, the Saudis -- who I think are looking for an opportunity to break this long-standing impasse but aren’t sure how to do it, and share concerns about Iran’s potential development of a nuclear weapon.  In order for us to potentially realign interests in the region in a constructive way, bolstering, to use the Prime Minister’s word, the Palestinian-Israeli peace track is critical.

It will not be easy.  It never has been easy.  In discussions, I don’t think the Prime Minister would mind me saying to him -- or saying publically what I said privately, which is that there is a recognition that the Palestinians are going to have to do a better job providing the kinds of security assurances that Israelis would need to achieve a two-state solution; that, you know, the leadership of the Palestinians will have to gain additional legitimacy and credibility with their own people, and delivering services.  And that’s something that the United States and Israel can be helpful in seeing them accomplish.

The other Arab states have to be more supportive and be bolder in seeking potential normalization with Israel.  And next week I will have the Palestinian Authority President Abbas as well as President Mubarak here and I will deliver that message to them.

Now, Israel is going to have to take some difficult steps as well, and I shared with the Prime Minister the fact that under the roadmap and under Annapolis that there’s a clear understanding that we have to make progress on settlements.  Settlements have to be stopped in order for us to move forward.  That’s a difficult issue.  I recognize that, but it’s an important one and it has to be addressed.

I think the humanitarian situation in Gaza has to be addressed.  Now, I was along the border in Sderot and saw the evidence of weapons that had been raining down on the heads of innocents in those Israeli cities, and that’s unacceptable.  So we’ve got to work with the Egyptians to deal with the smuggling of weapons and it has to be meaningful because no Prime Minister of any country is going to tolerate missiles raining down on their citizens’ heads.

On the other hand, the fact is, is that if the people of Gaza have no hope, if they can’t even get clean water at this point, if the border closures are so tight that it is impossible for reconstruction and humanitarian efforts to take place, then that is not going to be a recipe for Israel’s long-term security or a constructive peace track to move forward.

So all these things are going to have to come together and it’s going to be difficult, but the one thing that I’ve committed to the Prime Minister is we are going to be engaged, the United States is going to roll up our sleeves.  We want to be a strong partner in this process.

I have great confidence in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s political skills, but also his historical vision and his recognition that during the years that he is Prime Minister this second go-around, he is probably going to be confronted with as many important decisions about the long-term strategic interests of Israel as any Prime Minister that we’ve seen in a very long time.  And I have great confidence that he’s going to rise to the occasion and I actually think that you’re going to see movement in -- among Arab states that we have not seen before.

But the trick is to try to coordinate all this in a very delicate political environment.  And that’s why I’m so pleased to have George Mitchell, who is standing behind the scrum there, as our special envoy, because I’m very confident that as somebody who was involved in equally delicate negotiations in Northern Ireland, he is somebody who recognizes that if you apply patience and determination, and you keep your eye on the long-term goal, as the Prime Minister articulated -- which is a wide-ranging peace, not a grudging peace, not a transitory peace, but a wide-ranging, regional peace -- that we can make great progress.

Q    Mr. President, the Israeli Prime Minister and the Israeli administration have said on many occasions -- on some occasions that only if the Iranian threat will be solved, they can achieve real progress on the Palestinian threat.  Do you agree with that kind of linkage?

And to the Israeli Prime Minister, you were speaking about the political track.  Are you willing to get into final status issues/negotiations like borders, like Jerusalem in the near future, based on the two-state solution?  And do you still hold this opinion about the linkage between the Iranian threat and your ability to achieve any progress on the Palestinian threat?

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Well, let me say this.  There’s no doubt that it is difficult for any Israeli government to negotiate in a situation in which they feel under immediate threat.  That’s not conducive to negotiations.  And as I’ve said before, I recognize Israel’s legitimate concerns about the possibility of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon when they have a president who has in the past said that Israel should not exist.  That would give any leader of any country pause.

Having said that, if there is a linkage between Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, I personally believe it actually runs the other way.  To the extent that we can make peace with the Palestinians -- between the Palestinians and the Israelis, then I actually think it strengthens our hand in the international community in dealing with a potential Iranian threat.

Having said that, I think that dealing with Iran’s potential nuclear capacity is something that we should be doing even if there already was peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.  And I think that pursuing Israeli-Palestinian peace is something that is in Israeli’s security interests and the United States’ national security interests, even if Iran was not pursuing a nuclear weapon.  They’re both important.

And we have to move aggressively on both fronts.  And I think that based on my conversations with Prime Minister Netanyahu, he agrees with me that they’re both important.  That’s not to say that he’s not making a calculation, as he should, about what are some of the most immediate threats to Israeli’s security, and I understand that.

But, look, imagine how much less mischief a Hezbollah or a Hamas could do if in fact we had moved a Palestinian-Israeli track in a direction that gave the Palestinian people hope.  And if Hezbollah and Hamas is weakened, imagine how that impacts Iran’s ability to make mischief, and vice versa.

I mean, so obviously these things are related, but they are important separately.  And I’m confident that the United States, working with Israel, can make progress on both fronts.

Q    Thank you.

PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU:  We’ve had extraordinarily friendly and constructive talks here today, and I’m very grateful to the President for that.  We want to move peace forward, and we want to ward off the great threats.

There isn’t a policy linkage, and that’s what I hear the President saying, and that’s what I’m saying too.  And I’ve always said there’s not a policy linkage between pursuing simultaneously peace between Israel and the Palestinians and the rest of the Arab world, and to trying to deal with removing the threat of a nuclear bomb.

There are causal links.  The President talked about one of them.  It would help, obviously, unite a broad front against Iran if we had peace between Israel and the Palestinians.  And conversely, if Iran went nuclear, it would threaten the progress towards peace and destabilize the entire area, and threaten existing peace agreement.

So it’s very clear to us.  I think we actually -- we don’t see closely on it, we see exactly eye to eye on this -- that we want to move simultaneously and then parallel on two fronts:  the front of peace, and the front of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear capability.

On the front of peace, the important thing for me is to resume negotiations as rapidly as possible, and to -- and my view is less one of terminology, but one of substance.  And I ask myself, what do we end up with?  If we end up with another Gaza -- the President has described to you there’s rockets falling out of Gaza -- that is something we don’t want to happen, because a terror base next to our cities that doesn’t call -- recognize Israel’s existence and calls for our destruction and asks for our destruction is not arguing peace.

If, however, the Palestinians recognize Israel as the Jewish state, if they -- if they fight terror, if they educate their children for peace and to a better future, then I think we can come at a substantive solution that allows the two people to live side by side in security and peace and I add prosperity, because I’m a great believer in this.

So I think the terminology will take care of itself if we have the substantive understanding.  And I think we can move forward on this.  I have great confidence in your leadership, Mr. President, and in your friendship to my country, and in your championing of peace and security.  And the answer is, both come together -- peace and security are intertwined.  They’re inseparable.

And I look forward, Mr. President, to working with you to achieve both.

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Thank you, everybody.

END
1:55 P.M. EDT