U.S. President Barack Obama (R) meets with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, capital of the United States, May 18, 2009. (Xinhua/Zhang Yan) Photo Gallery>>>
WASHINGTON, May 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack
Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on
Monday, reiterating that the United States is committed to a two-state solution
to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"I believe it is in the interest not only of the
Palestinians but also the Israelis and the United States and the international
community to achieve a two-state solution," Obama told reporters after his talks
with Netanyahu.
Obama also told Netanyahu that Israel must stop
Jewish settlement in the occupied territories. "We have to make progress on
settlements. Settlements have to be stopped," he said.
In response, Netanyahu said that Israel is ready to
reopen peace talks with the Palestinians. But he insisted that Palestinians must
recognize the existence of Israel.
"I want to make it clear that we don't want to govern
the Palestinians -- we want to live in peace with them," Netanyahu said, noting
that "the goal has to be an end to conflict. There'll have to be compromises by
Israelis and Palestinians alike. We're ready to do our share. We hope the
Palestinians will do their share as well."
Netanyahu, who is leading a hawkish Israeli governing
coalition, did not talk about the future of the Palestinian state that
Washington and the Palestinians have actively called for.
On the issue of Iran, Obama urged Tehran to make
commitment to the settlement of the nuclear issues. He said that the United
States is expecting to see positive response from Iran on its nuclear program by
the end of the year.
"My expectation would be that if we begin discussions
soon, shortly after the Iranian elections, we should have a fairly good sense by
the end of the year as to whether they are moving in the right direction," Obama
said.
In his turn, Netanyahu reiterated Israel's grave
concerns over Iran's nuclear program. "Iran openly calls for our destruction,
which is unacceptable," he said.
Netanyahu is expected to have a working dinner with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton later in the day, and to hold talks with national security advisor James Jones.
RALLAH, May 18 (Xinhua) -- A senior Palestinian National Authority (PNA) official on Monday denied secret contacts between the PNA and Israel on resuming the peace negotiations.
An Israeli report saying there were secret contacts to resume the peace talks is "rootless and untrue," Nemmer Hamad, a senior aide to President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a statement to Xinhua. Full story
RAMALLAH, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Monday strongly slammed Israel's recent decision to build a new settlement in northern West Bank.
Nabil Abu Rdeneh, spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas, said the decision to build a new settlement in the Jordan Valley was "a clear message proving the Israeli government's persistence in going ahead with its colonization policies." Full story
JERUSALEM, May 18 (Xinhua) -- A new Jewish settlement will be built in northern West Bank for the first time in 26 years, Israeli Army Radio reported Monday.
A tender of 20 residential units was issued recently for the new settlement named Maskiot, which is to be established on the ruins of another settlement abandoned years ago, according to the report. Full story
CAIRO, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The rival Palestinian factions of Fatah and Hamas ended their two-day talks in the Egyptian capital on Monday without achieving any breakthrough bridging internal splits that have undermined hopes for peace negotiations with Israel, according to officials of both sides.
Hamas has put some fresh conditions which would complicate the situation, said a well-informed Fatah source. Full story
