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Israel: PM to ŽadoptŽ road map with no end to settlements
[ADN Kronos] Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will announce in his foreign policy speech scheduled for Sunday the adoption of the road map and the "two-state solution" for settling the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, according to sources close to the prime minister.

Sources cited by the Israeli daily, Haaretz, said the speech will "revolve around the road map."

Netanyahu is expected to present conditions for the implementation of the road map, above all a Palestinian recognition of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people. He will also demand that the future Palestinian state be demilitarised.

The 'road map' plan -- sponsored by the diplomatic Quartet of the UN, European Union, Russia and the United States -- aims to secure a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace.

According to sources, Netanyahu will defy US pressure and declare that settlements in the West Bank are not an obstacle to peace.

US president Barack Obama recently spoke about the "illegitimacy" of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and has insisted that Israel freeze construction in land Palestinians want for their state.

Jewish settlements and outposts, considered illegal under international law, are a major source of friction between Israelis and Palestinians. The first settlements were erected in 1967. Over 450,000 Israeli settlers live in the Palestinian territories including East Jerusalem, where Palestinians are seeking to make their capital in a future state.

The premier, however, said the conditions for the implementation of the road map are the Palestinian recognition of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people and the demand of a demilitarised Palestinian state.

Sources said Netanyahu would also propose a region-wide process whereby Arab states will begin normalising ties with Israel, in parallel to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Also on Thursday, Israeli president Shimon Peres called for the establishment of a Palestinian state with provisional borders. He made the remarks while meeting European Union chief foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
Posted by: Fred 2009-06-12
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=271776