(Washington Post) Glenn Kessler - Until Obama on Thursday, U.S. presidents generally have steered clear of saying the negotiations should start on the 1967 lines. Starting with President Lyndon Johnson, right after the Six-Day War, U.S. presidents often have shown great sympathy for Israel's contention that the pre-1967 dividing line did not provide security. Even the "Clinton parameters" of President Bill Clinton shied away from mentioning the 1967 lines even as it spoke of "territorial swaps." On Nov. 25, 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mentioned a state based on 1967 lines as a "Palestinian goal." Thus, Obama's statement Thursday represented a major shift. He did not articulate the 1967 boundaries as a "Palestinian goal" but as U.S. policy.
2011-05-25 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive