Although many have criticized President Barack Obama for his assertion in May that Israel should return to their pre-1967 borders, Obama and Israel Prime Ministrer Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear they are on the same page.
Obama and Netanyahu met at the United Nations Wednesday, and the two said only negotiation can resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Both the United States and Israel have strongly opposed the Palestinians’ plan to bring a statehood bid before the U.N. Security Council on Friday.
“We both agree that this is the only way to achieve peace,” the National Journal reported the Israeli leader saying, while thanking Obama for his support. “I think this is a badge of honor, and I want to thank you for wearing that badge of honor,” he said of the U.S. promise to oppose the Palestinian bid.
Earlier on Wednesday, Obama addressed the U.N. General Assembly for the third time in his presidency. The Washington Post reports that the president said he is frustrated by the lack of progress on peace between Israelis and Palestinians, but stressed that there is “no shortcut” to ending the conflict.
It has been one year since Obama told the General Assembly he hoped to see a Palestinian state born by now, and Wednesday he said creating such a state alongside Israel is still his goal.
“But the question isn’t the goal we seek; the question is how to reach it. And I am convinced that there is no short cut to the end of a conflict that has endured for decades,” The Times of India reported the president saying.
“Ultimately, it is Israelis and Palestinians who must live side by side. Ultimately, it is Israelis and Palestinians—not us—who must reach agreement on the issues that divide them: on borders and security; on refugees and Jerusalem,” he added.
In his meeting with Netanyahu, Obama reiterated words from his speech to the assembly, the National Journal reported. “One-sided actions in the U.N. will achieve neither statehood nor self-determination.”
While many do not support Israel and the prime minister, activists from Christians United for Israel sent him more than 45,000 emails in 24 hours, expressing support for his efforts to defend the State of Israel at the UN.
The email states, in part: “As you stand before the representatives of so many hostile nations, we want you to know that you are not alone! There are millions of Christians in America and around the world who stand with you! We believe fervently in Israel’s right to exist and right to defend herself from attack like any other nation. And we agree with you that peace cannot be imposed by a hostile U.N.—it can only result from negotiations.”
John Hagee, CUFI founder and national chairman, said: “We are of course painfully aware that as Prime Minister Netanyahu takes the podium at the U.N. he will be speaking before a largely hostile crowd, but the people of Israel can rest assured that across our country and around the world millions of Christian Zionists stand with the Jewish State.”
In a further move to show support for Israel, Obama was due to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas later on Wednesday, and appeal him to not present U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon with a membership application on Friday.
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