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Netanyahu Highlights US-Israeli Ties in Address to US Congress

   VOA News  May 24, 2011
   Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, followed by House Majority Leader Eric
   Cantor, and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy arrives to address a
   joint meeting of Congress, on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 24, 2011

Photo: AP

   Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, followed by House Majority Leader Eric
   Cantor, and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy arrives to address a
   joint meeting of Congress, on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 24, 2011

   Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has addressed a joint meeting
   of the U.S. Congress, highlighting the strong ties between the two
   allies.
   Netanyahu told lawmakers Tuesday that the two countries stand together
   to defend democracy, advance peace and fight terrorism. He described
   Israel as an unwavering ally to the United States.
   He said the Middle East stands at a fateful crossroads, with people
   seeking freedom over tyranny. He warned of the dangers a nuclear-armed
   Iran, saying the nightmare of nuclear terrorism would be a clear and
   present danger throughout the world.
   Netanyahu also pledged to make compromises to forge peace with the
   Palestinians.
   A heckler shouted during the start of his speech, but he welcomed the
   interruption, saying that is what can happen in a real democracy.
   Monday, he told a meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs
   Committee that Israel cannot return to what he said were "indefensible"
   1967 lines. He said peace will only come when Palestinians recognize
   Israel's right to exist.
   U.S. President Barack Obama told the same pro-Israeli lobbying group on
   Sunday that Israel must "make the hard choices" necessary to reach a
   peace agreement. They include, he said, basing the borders of Israel
   and a Palestinian state on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps of
   territory.
   Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected returning to the pre-1967 war
   borders.

   Map of Israeli pre-1967 borders

   The prime minister said Monday peace will not solve all the endemic
   problems in the Middle East. He said what is needed is genuine
   democracy that includes elections, freedoms of speech, press and
   assembly, and rights for women, gays and minorities.
   In his speech to the U.S. Congress, Netanyahu described Israel as an
   example of democracy in the Middle East.
   During his U.S. visit, Netanyahu met at the White House with President
   Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
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References

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