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Video: 1967 Lines Were Never a Border

(Fox News) Dore Gold - Israel's former UN ambassador Dore Gold told Fox News in an interview on May 27: "I think the prime minister laid out something very fundamental and very important for the future of any talks. There's an expectation that Israel withdraws to the 1967 lines, which were never a border for the State of Israel. They were where armies had stopped in an earlier war when Israel had been invaded. What the prime minister said is that those lines were indefensible and therefore Israel needs defensible borders, and in any future talks, that will be one of the points that Israel will insist on." "In 2004 the State of Israel received a presidential letter that was confirmed by both houses of Congress, saying that Israel would not be expected to fully withdraw to the 1949 armistice line - that's the technical name of the 1967 line. George Shultz, who was secretary of state of Ronald Reagan, said that Israel would never withdraw to the 1967 lines. So it hasn't always been a reference term. I think President Obama introduced some wiggle room in terms of what the expectation is of Israel with reference to that line." "He mentioned 'land swaps.' The Palestinians see a land swap as representing a very small amount of territory. We need defensible borders - the Jordan Valley - that great barrier that protects Israel either from a conventional attack or from massive infiltration by al-Qaeda and other forces from the east. That is how we've kept Israel secure for over 40 years. And therefore that kind of deployment, that kind of presence, is what we are going to need in the future." "Put yourself in the position of an Israeli prime minister. You look around at the Middle East and you don't know if the countries around you will even be there in five years or in three years. Will the governments be changed? Will we have more radical regimes? What is going to happen to Iraq after the U.S. army leaves? Will it become an Iranian satellite? And therefore, all the more so, Israel needs defensible borders." "We can make peace. But peace is based on compromise, compromise in which you protect your vital interests. Our vital interests are in Jerusalem and in keeping those borders that will allow us to protect ourselves."
2011-05-30 00:00:00
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