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Jerusalem Is Not a Settlement

[Prime Minister's Office] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - After meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "I reiterated Israel's commitment to peace and outlined what I believe is the winning formula for peace: a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state. We're working hard to advance a peace process that will lead to an actual peace result." "They have to say unequivocally 'it's over.' We are going to make a real peace. It'll be a final peace. It will be a peace that will end all claims to further conflict. It'll be a peace that will resolve the Palestinian refugee issue once and for all." "If we're asked to recognize a Palestinian state as the nation state of the Palestinian people, it is absolutely essential that the Palestinian leadership says to the Palestinian people 'you will have to accept Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.' Recognition is the pivot of peace. The absence of such clear and forthright expressions by the Palestinian leadership of such recognition has been what has been holding peace up and this is what the people of Israel and I think all fair minded people in the world expect." "We are trying to...enable normal life for the Israeli residents in Judea-Samaria [West Bank]. We have about a quarter of a million such people. They lead lives, they have children who have to go to school, they need classrooms, they need kindergartens, and they need to have a place to house their families. This is very different from grabbing land, and I have made it clear that we are not going to build new settlements or expropriate additional land for existing ones. What we are seeking to achieve with the United States in the talks we have conducted...is to find a bridging formula that will enable...those residents to continue living normal lives." "Jerusalem is the sovereign capital of Israel. We accept no limitations on our sovereignty....Jerusalem is not a settlement....Jerusalem is the united capital of the Jewish people. It has only been around for 3,000 years. We recognize that there are obviously Arab residents in Jerusalem, and they enjoy all the equal rights and all the equal benefits of the Jewish residents." "What has been revealed in the recent dramatic events of the Iranian election is that this regime does not enjoy the support of the Iranian people. It is far weaker than meets the eye, and if the resolve of the responsible members of the international community is strong and firm, then however late the hour, the future can be secured. This is our preference. I think that the stronger those actions and those sanctions are today, the less need there will be for stronger actions tomorrow."
2009-08-26 06:00:00
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