(PTI): Israel may have to make unfavorable concessions in an attempt to win back the United State’s support for its stance on Iran and Palestine.
Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are due to visit US President Barack Obama in Washington to announce their willingness to accept a peace plan similar to the Arab Peace Initiative.
Peres, who meets Obama this weekend, will reportedly try to ‘soften’ Obama and prepare the grounds for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s US visit in mid May.
The upcoming meetings are announced as media reports suggest that the US president is not content with the hawkish government’s handling of the peace process with the Palestinians.
The two sides are said be at odds over Iran as well. While the Obama administration favors dialogue with Iran Netanyahu’s government makes military threats against the country on and off.
The Saudi-proposed Arab Peace Initiative, which was introduced by Arab sates in 2002, requires Israel to withdraw from the land it occupied in 1967, provide for the return of all Palestinian refugees, and accept al-Quds as the capital of a future Palestinian state all in exchange for diplomatic ties with Arab states.
However, a senior Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the Jerusalem Post on Wednesday that Netanyahu plans to accept only “some parts” of the plan in its upcoming visit to the US.
“The main problem is the demand for [the return of] refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace “, the official said.
Despite the new Israeli government’s opposition to the creation of an independent Palestinian state, Barack Obama has expressed strong support for the two-state solution, describing it as the only way to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
On April 1, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, sparked controversy by saying that Tel Aviv was not bound by the 2007 US-backed Annapolis deal, under which Israel agreed to the creation of a Palestinian state. He said the peace process was at a “dead end.”
Following the comments by Lieberman, former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni who was the country’s top negotiator in peace talks with Palestinians, said that her successor’s position on the 2007 Annapolis deal “showed the world that we are not a partner [for peace].”
Lieberman’s remarks coupled with a number of military threats against Iran by Top Israeli officials resulted in Washington’s ire.
Recent reports suggested that US President Barack Obama is mulling over plans to impose sanctions against Israel should the right-wing government of Benjamin Netanyahu implement its long-sought policy of countering Iran’s nuclear activities by taking military action against the country.
According to Israeli sources, Tel Aviv is planning to compromise on the Palestinian issue to obtain more direct and aggressive US assistance on Iran.
