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US, Israeli Meeting Follows Controversial Israeli Border Proposal

   VOA News  May 20, 2011

   U.S. President Barack Obama hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
   Netanyahu Friday, for what could be a tense meeting after Netanyahu
   sharply criticized the president's remarks about proposed Israeli
   borders.
   In a major Middle East policy speech on Thursday, Obama said the
   borders of Israel should be based on the lines that existed before the
   1967 Six-Day War, with mutually agreed swaps with the Palestinians, so
   that secure and recognized borders are established for both states.
   However, Netanyahu rejected Obama's remarks, saying the 1967 lines
   would be "indefensible" for Israel. He said an Israeli withdrawal from
   some of the areas gained during the war would result in leaving major
   Jewish settlements in the West Bank outside of Israel.
   Israel says, in Friday's meeting, Netanyahu expects to hear a
   reaffirmation of U.S. commitments made to Israel in 2004, when former
   President George W. Bush said Israel should not be forced to withdraw
   to the pre-1967 lines.
   Bush also said any deal should reflect "existing major Israeli
   population centers" - a reference to the largest Jewish settlements in
   the West Bank built after the 1967 war.
   Palestinians welcomed Obama's efforts to renew the peace talks with
   Israel that stalled last September. An aide says Palestinian President
   Mahmoud Abbas has called an emergency meeting to discuss Obama's
   remarks.
   U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Netanyahu and Abbas to respond
   as "statesmen and peacemakers" to Obama's speech. Ban said Thursday he
   hoped all sides would renew their determination to achieve a peace
   deal.
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References

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