Israel 'sees border talks if PA drops UN bid'

[Jefferson23]

Prime minister said to be willing to negotiate pre-1967 borders if Palestinians do not seek UN recognition next month.

Gregg Carlstrom Last Modified: 02 Aug 2011 14:48


Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu wants to negotiate borders with the Palestinian Authority (PA), according to local media reports, in an attempt to head off a Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations next month.

The exact details of Netanyahu's proposal are unclear. Israel's Army Radio and Channel 2 television both reported on Tuesday that Netanyahu was willing to hold talks based on the pre-war 1967 borders.

Earlier this year, Netanyahu had said that Israel "cannot return to the indefensible 1967 lines".

AFP quoted an unnamed Israeli official who said the borders would be the basis for talks.

But a separate report from the Reuters news agency, quoting another unnamed official, said the proposal would not mention 1967 borders, though it could include borders "that would be difficult for Israel to accept".

The reports say Netanyahu would agree to the talks if the PA drops its UN bid.

They also say that Netanyahu will demand the PA recognise Israel as a "Jewish state," something it has publicly refused to do - though Al Jazeera's publication of The Palestine Papers revealed that Palestinian officials accepted that demand in private.

Netanyahu reportedly made his proposal on Monday during a closed-door meeting of the Knesset's foreign affairs and defence committee.

remainder:http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/08/201182105413548137.html

[bemildred]

1. I don't think Pie-in-the-sky-by-and-by is going to do it. nt

[Jefferson23]

2. Not this time, nope.

I should have added this to your earlier thread..oops.