Obama: Israel Needs to Move on Peace Plan

Tells AIPAC that Thursday speech merely said out loud long accepted wisdom
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 22, 2011 11:12 AM CDT
President Obama to AIPAC: Israel Needs to Move on Peace Plan
President Barack Obama arrives to speak at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) convention in Washington, Sunday, May 22, 2011.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President Obama says Israel will face growing isolation without a credible Middle East peace process, telling AIPAC today that "we cannot afford to wait another decade, or another two decades, or another three decades, to achieve peace." After a contentious couple of days, Obama said today his endorsement of the Jewish state's 1967 boundaries as the basis for a Palestinian state reflected the urgent need for a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians.

"What I did on Thursday was to say publicly what has long been acknowledged privately," the president told the pro-Israel lobby. Obama said he brought the terms out in the open because delay will undermine Israel's security and peace prospects. He repeated his remarks from Thursday on Israeli-Palestinian borders and security verbatim. Click for full text of the president's speech. (More President Obama stories.)

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