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Arab/Muslim States

Netanyahu parries Mubarak on 'two-states'


By Stan Goodenough
May 11, 2009

On his first official trip as Israel's new prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for talks at Sharm e-Sheikh Monday.

The Israeli disappointed those who were hoping to hear him tell Mubarak that Israel would support the "two-state-solution."

Netanyahu flew to the Sinai immediately after welcoming Pope Benedict XVI at Ben Gurion, where the pontiff called on Israel's leadership to enable the Palestinian Arabs to establish a state "alongside Israel."

This, too, was Mubarak's message to the prime minister.

However, the Israeli leader would not commit to this path.

According to Ynetnews, Mubarak said after his face-to-face meeting with Netanyahu that the Israeli PM "expressed his government's commitment to promoting peace, while I expressed Egypt's hope that his government live up to its commitment regarding the two-state solution and the advancement of the Arab peace initiative."

Today's pressure was only the latest that has been relentlessly brought to bear on Netanyahu since his government was sworn in on March 31.

It comes hours after Jordan's king Abd'allah warned that unless Israel made peace with the "Palestinians" this year there would be war between the Jewish state and the Arab war within 18 months.

Numerous other world leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Czech Prime Minister Mirel Topolanek, US Vice President Joe Biden, have let it be known that they expect Israel to embrace "two-states-for-two-nations."

The pressure is expected to come to a head when Netanyahu meets with US President Barack Obama at the White House a week from today.

Top administration officials have warned of Obama's intention to deal "forcefully" with Israel to get it to comply with the wishes of the world.

In the word's of arch-leftist Israeli commentator Akiva Eldar writing in Ha'aretz Monday, Obama "in his first days at the White House ... made clear that whether a two-state solution is acceptable to a Likud government or not, that is the only formula up for negotiation."

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