What does Israel hope the speech Obama gave in the Middle East will lead to?”
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel said it hoped Barack Obama’s speech to the Muslim world Thursday would help usher in a “new period of reconciliation” in the Middle East, but carefully brushed over key differences with the U.S. highlighted in the historic address. A government statement welcomed Obama’s plea for peace. But it skirted any reference to Obama’s calls for a settlement freeze in the West Bank and the creation of an independent Palestinian state — demands that Israel’s hawkish prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, continues to reject. “We share President Obama’s hope that the American effort heralds the beginning of a new era that will bring about an end to the conflict and lead to Arab recognition of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, living in peace and security in the Middle East,” the statement said, noting that Israeli’s security must also be guaranteed in any future peace moves.
