Obama in direct appeal to young Israelis on peace

Google – AFP, Stephen Collinson (AFP), 21 March 2013

Barack Obama speaks on US, Israel and Mideast relations on March 21, 2013

in Israel (AFP, Saul Loeb)

JERUSALEM — In a powerful direct appeal to Israelis, President Barack Obama Thursday insisted a two-state peace with the Palestinians could still be forged and was their only hope of true security.

In a trademark soaring address, Obama also built on his vow of an "eternal" defence of the Jewish state in the face of Iran's nuclear programme, which has been at the centerpiece of his first trip to the country as US president.

Obama declared that "Israel is at a crossroads" as he sought to convince young Israelis to reshape the internal political dynamics which have seen peace talks frozen for two years.

"Peace is necessary. Indeed it is the only path to true security," Obama told an exuberant audience at a Jerusalem conference centre.

"You can be the generation that permanently secures the Zionist dream," Obama said, warning that a two-state solution was the only way to ensure Israel remained a Jewish state amid changing demographics.

Hours after taking a helicopter ride into the West Bank, over barbed wire fences and the walls of Israel's anti-militant barrier, Obama urged his young Israeli audience to "look at the world through (Palestinian) eyes."

At a state dinner later in his Jerusalem residence, President Shimon Peres told his guest that he was "moved by the way in which you spoke to the hearts of the young Israelis."

Earlier, Obama's edgy news conference with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah reflected Palestinian disappointment with his failure to live up to first-term vows to help forge a Palestinian state.

The frosty atmosphere lacked the bonhomie of the bonding session he held with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, as the two leaders, both setting off on new mandates, sought to prove their prickly relationship was a thing of the past.

In Ramallah Obama condemned the "continuing threat" of attacks from the Hamas-run Gaza Strip after two rockets hit southern Israel, near the town of Sderot.

The United Nations also joined the condemnation: "We condemn all rocket fire and call for it to stop," a UN statement said.

In front of Abbas, Obama said that the two-state solution was still a possibility, despite claims that Israeli settlement building had crushed Palestinian dreams of a contiguous state.

Although he singled out Israeli settlements on lands Palestinians see as part of their future state as a major impediment to reviving peace talks, Obama did not call for a new construction ban.

Abbas was less hazy on the question in private talks with Obama, according to his political adviser Nimr Hammad.

"A resumption of negotiations is not possible without an Israeli settlement freeze in the West Bank and east Jerusalem," Hammad told AFP.

Israel says it will not come back to talks with pre-conditions.

Obama came to the Middle East amid tepid expectations, promising not to table grand plans but to assess the prospects for progress.

But the striking ambition of his speech will be sure to raise expectations of a new US intervention to revive the peace process.

Obama made similar calls for movement in Middle East talks in 2009 with his seminal Cairo speech -- but failed to live up to the expectations he generated, as the peace moves crashed.

Officials said Obama would send Secretary of State John Kerry back to Israel on Saturday to follow up on his visit with Israeli leaders.

A statement from the office of Netanyahu, who heads a new governing coalition, thanked Obama for his "unreserved" support for Israel and agreed on the need for peace with the Palestinians.

But newly appointed cabinet minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the far-right Jewish Home party, was scathing.

"Obama's words certainly came out of a concern for Israel and from true friendship but we experienced the results of our previous withdrawal this morning in Sderot and in the thousands of victims during past years," he wrote on his Facebook page. "A Palestinian state is not the right way."

Obama also urged foreign states to blacklist Lebanon's Hezbollah for its attacks on Israelis.

"Every country that values justice should call Hezbollah what it truly is -- a terrorist organisation," he said in remarks aimed at the European Union.

Obama also issued a fresh call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to leave power as the bloody uprising against his regime, which the UN estimates has so far claimed 70,000 lives, enters its third year.

With Netanyahu on Wednesday, Obama warned that any use by Assad of chemical weapons would be a "game-changer" that would lead to international action.

And he issued a fresh warning to Iran, stressing that the time for pursuing a diplomatic resolution to its controversial nuclear program was "not unlimited."

Negotiations will be necessary, but there is little secret about where

 they must lead ? two states for two peoples.' Photograph: Jason

Reed/Reuters

Related Articles:

Barack Obama's speech in Jerusalem – full text

Obama vows 'eternal' defence of Israel

"THE BRIDGE OF SWORDS"– Sep  29, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Text version)

“… Let us talk about the swords: When you hear the word sword, the first thing that occurs to you is battle. The Bridge of Swords is a battle and we told you that as well. Swords are metaphoric and they mean many things, so let us describe the things we mean them to say to you.

Number one: They are indeed a weapon in a battle. There is a battle coming. "Kryon, does that mean there's going to be a war?" Potentially, yes. Right now we will tell you that the Middle East cooks itself. You've noticed, haven't you? What do you know about the Middle East, dear one? Let's start examining things for a moment. What energy did you grow up in? What was the energy of the Middle East? In the '40s, what was the energy? With the establishment of the state of Israel, you built a wall of hate, both sides. The wall was so thick that the children of both sides were taught to hate one another as soon as they were able to understand the language. They were told who their enemies were. Now, where were you then?

Some of you weren't here yet. By the time you arrived, in your youth, were you aware of the Middle East? Not particularly. "What's the hatred about?" you might ask. What if I told you it's about a family feud? Two sons of a Jewish master are involved. One founded the Arabs and one remained a Jew. They don't want to hear this, but they are all Jews. (Don't tell them this.)

If you look at the lineage, it's pretty obvious and yet it's a complete and total set-up for either solution or war. The set-up would have this world ending in a conflagration that would have been brought about by this hatred. That's in the prophecy of Nostradamus and your scripture, but it is no longer the prophecy of the planet. Yet the hatred still exists. The hatred is as great today as it was then, but where was all the terrorism 40 years ago? It was isolated.

Those in Israel and Palestine and surrounding areas took the brunt of it, but now it's seemingly everywhere - and you're worried. Why would this be? The answer is that the old energy was happy to have this hatred contained, for it would keep it going and never involve outsiders. Outsiders tend to bring unwanted light to the party. Suddenly, the whole earth is involved and can see the entire scenario before them. The old guard wants war, just like all the eons before them. The ones on the bridge are holding the light and showing the earth how to cross. Even many younger ones in Israel and Palestine and Iran are holding light! It's all around the old guard and they are furious, for they are losing the "battle of hatred." …”