Not 1967 Israel border!

“Obama prods Mideast allies to embrace reform, make peace

By Scott Wilson, Updated: Thursday, May 19, 2:57 PM

President Obama used an address Thursday on the tumult in the Middle East and North Africa to increase pressure on American allies in the region, including Israel, to carry out lasting political reform and make peace with old enemies.

Speaking to diplomats in the State Department’s ornate Benjamin Franklin Room, Obama attempted to advance his project of bringing U.S. policy in line with his stated values of democratic reform and respect for human rights, acknowledging that “our friends in the region have not all reacted to the demands for change consistent” with those principles.

Obama made clear he was referring to Yemen and Bahrain, but his speech omitted any mention of the oil-rich kingdom of Saudi Arabia, an American ally that has helped neighboring Bahrain crack down on its anti-government demonstrations.

Obama used one of the longest sections of his speech to urge Israel, in unusually frank terms, to negotiate a final peace agreement with the Palestinians.

For the first time, Obama cited Israel’s boundaries on the eve of the June 1967 Arab-Israeli war as the basis for negotiation over final borders, saying that a “full and phased withdrawal of Israeli military forces” from the West Bank should be carried out in coordination with Palestinian security forces.

The formulation goes beyond principles outlined by President George W. Bush, who stated during his term that “it is unrealistic to expect” Israel to pull back to the 1967 lines. Obama said the negotiations over final borders, which he indicated may include land swaps to accommodate Israel’s large settlement blocs, should result in “a viable Palestine, a secure Israel.”

Obama acknowledged that the conflict’s most emotional questions — the division of Jerusalem, which both Israelis and Palestinians claim as their capital, and the right of Palestinian refugees or their descendants to return to homes inside Israel — would still need to be resolved. But he said moving forward now on the border and security aspects would provide a foundation for resolving the two “wrenching and emotional issues” in a “just and fair” manner.

By doing so, Obama essentially embraced the middle ground between two camps within his national security team, which for months have debated how far he should go in spelling out his plan for an Israeli-Palestinian peace.

To reassure Israelis, Obama pledged an “unshakable” commitment to Israel’s security and called any future Palestinian state “non-militarized,” something Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has demanded. Netanyahu is set to visit Obama on Friday at the White House.

“Precisely because of our friendship, it is important that we tell the truth: the status quo is unsustainable, and Israel must act boldly to advance a lasting peace,” Obama said. “The dream of a Jewish and democratic state cannot be fulfilled with permanent occupation.”

The 45-minute speech was Obama’s first attempt to define the U.S. interest in the political changes taking place across the Middle East and North Africa, driven by a series of anti-government upheavals unfolding differently in countries from Libya through the Persian Gulf states.”