Main focus of Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Netanyahu endorses Palestinian state

In a keynote speech on the Middle East conflict delivered on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed a demilitarised Palestinian state for the first time. However he demanded that the Palestinians recognise Israel as "the homeland of the Jewish people" and that Jerusalem remain the "united capital of Israel".

Berlingske - Denmark

The liberal daily Berlingske Tidende expresses cautious optimism after hearing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech. At least he mentioned the possibility of a Palestinian state, it notes: "One must seize the small opportunities if the peace process is to make progress. … Despite his reservations Netanyahu has shown courage in even mentioning the word Palestinian state. We can only hope that the [radical-Islamic] Hamas, the [terrorist organisation] Hezbollah and a number of Arab states give the same amount of recognition. But this is not to be expected. Therefore we must give Netanyahu our support, even if the speech was not what we had hoped for." (16/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Middle East

Frankfurter Rundschau - Germany

The Israeli prime minister has at best brought things a tiny step forward with his speech, writes the left-liberal daily Frankfurter Rundschau: "Benjamin Netanyahu did in fact say the words 'Palestinian state'. But the way he did it certainly nourishes scepticism as to whether Israelis and Palestinians will ever reach a two-state solution. And the reaction from the settlers' lobby has been correspondingly mild. The Israeli prime minister's speech was still to the right of the political spectrum and can meet with a broad consensus. Not least because he only dares to take a step forward when thickly wrapped in long-outdated Likud ideology. ... It takes a whole lot of blending out to search for the causes for the Middle East conflict solely among the Palestinians, and that's exactly what Netanyahu does. ... However even more decisive is what US President Barack Obama makes of the speech. Netanyahu may have only brought the peace process a tiny step forward, but for someone with his credentials he's made a huge leap ahead. In modern pedagogy every learning success is rewarded with a positive reaction - and that's exactly how to read the praise from Washington. A start has been made, but the way to peace is long and consistent pressure is needed." (16/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » U.S., » Global, » Israel
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Neue Zürcher Zeitung - Switzerland

The keynote speech of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did little to bring about the hoped-for settlement between the Jews in Israel and their Palestinian neighbours, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung writes on a critical note: "Unrealistic is also Netanyahu's demand that the Palestinians and all Arab-Israeli citizens recognise the Jewish state. More than a million Palestinians live in Israel and hold an Israeli passport. It is precisely because Israel wants to define itself as a Jewish state (rather than a state of all its citizens) that the prevailing constitutional conditions are in conflict with the modern idea of democracy. Palestinian Israelis are denied certain fundamental rights. To demand that they recognise the Jewish state is not only unrealistic; it is the cynicism of the strongman who lacks any understanding for the weak." (15/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Domestic Policy, » Israel

Open Democracy - United Kingdom

Israeli journalist Akiva Eldar writes in the left-liberal online magazine Open Democracy that Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at Bar-Ilan University will not further the aims of peace: "The [Israeli] prime minister's declaration that Jerusalem will remain the 'undivided capital' of Israel - only Israel - slammed the door before the entire Muslim world. His Hebron [in the West Bank], moreover, is solely the city of the Jewish patriarchs; the Arabs have no such rights at all. The Palestinians can have a state, but only if those foreign invaders show us they know how to eat with a fork and knife. Actually, without a knife. ... That's not how one brings down a wall of enmity between two nations, that's not how trust is built." (16/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Middle East, » Israel
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