Showing posts with label Federica Mogherini. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Federica Mogherini. Show all posts

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Netanyahu Ready to Create Palestinian State

Netanyahu Ready to Create Palestinian State

Thursday, May 21, 2015 |  Israel Today Staff
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday stated clearly that he supports the creation of a Palestinian Arab state as the outcome of a bilateral agreement to end the present conflict.
“I don’t support a one-state solution – I don’t believe that’s a solution at all,” said the Israeli leader. “I support the vision of two states for two peoples – a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state.”
The prime minister made the remarks just prior to meeting with visiting European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini (pictured), with whom Netanyahu said he was “look[ing] forward to discussing with how we can advance that vision forth in a practical, secure, and responsible way.”
Following the recent Israeli national elections, European and American leaders loudly voiced concerns over Netanyahu’s campaign rhetoric, which suggested the Israeli leader saw little justification for permitting the creation of a Palestinian state.
On Thursday, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin also met with Mogherini and noted that “the whole world heard” Netanyahu commit himself to the two-state solution, and suggested that as such there should be no more question about Israel’s commitment to peace.
The official coalition guidelines for Netanyahu’s new government in fact call for the advancement of peace efforts with the Palestinians and all Israel’s neighbors, while safeguarding the Jewish state’s security and historical rights.
The danger is that Western powers will now, once again, try to railroad the process while ignoring ongoing Palestinian intransigence and violations, thus leading either to yet another breakdown in talks, or, more worryingly, a final status agreement that imperils Israel’s future.
Indeed, French media reported this week that Paris would soon present a new proposal for the peace process with an 18-month deadline, after which France threatened to unilaterally recognize a “State of Palestine” if no agreement had been reached.
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Monday, November 10, 2014

Europe: Divide Jerusalem; Netanyahu: Not a Chance

Europe: Divide Jerusalem; Netanyahu: Not a Chance

Sunday, November 09, 2014 |  Ryan Jones  ISRAEL TODAY
The European Union’s new foreign affairs chief, Federica Mogherini, visited the region over the weekend and insisted on the urgent need for a Palestinian state with the eastern half of Jerusalem as its capital.
“We need a Palestinian state - that is the ultimate goal and this is the position of all the European Union,” said Mogherini while in the Gaza Strip, adding later during her stop in Ramallah that “Jerusalem can be and should be the capital of two states.”
Mogherini said that establishing a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital is a “global” objective, and that Israel is obstructing this important and worthy goal by continuing to allow Jews to live in areas claimed by the Palestinian Arabs, in particular on the eastern side of Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by once again stating that “Jerusalem is our capital and as such is not a settlement.”
Speaking to reporters ahead of his own meeting with Mogherini, Netanyahu stressed that “the neighborhoods in which we are living…and we’ve been building, have been there for close to 50 years… Everybody knows that in any peace arrangement they will remain part of Israel.”
Indeed, the issue of Jerusalem remains perhaps the largest stumbling block to international efforts to conclude a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. A firm majority of Israeli Jews insist that after millennia of longing for a return to Jerusalem, the city must never again be divided, while Palestinian leaders say they won’t accept any peace deal that doesn’t give them control of half the city, including the Old City and Temple Mount.
PHOTO: Netanyahu and Mogherini face off in Jerusalem
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