[ Instead – it continues to expand – thereby continuously perpetuating the conflict ]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday
that U.S. President Barack Obama’s vision of a Palestinian state on the borders of 1967 could leave the Jewish state “indefensible.”
“The viability of a Palestinian state cannot come at the expense of Israel’s existence,”
the Israeli leader said in a statement before flying to Washington for scheduled talks with Obama Friday.
Responding to an Obama speech Thursday outlining Middle East strategy,
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 the Palestinians.
Setting out the principles of a Middle East peace accord,
Obama reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to Israel’s security.