(JTA) Ron Kampeas - President Obama's "1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps" formulation represents a substantive - if subtle - break with his recent predecessors. While Obama's predecessors have recognized the 1967 lines as a Palestinian aspiration, Obama has embraced those lines (again, with swaps) as U.S. policy. Under Bush's formulation, an Israeli negotiator can look at a 2011 map, assess what Israel holds, and calculate what it can safely keep and what it can "generously" cede. Under Obama's formulation, the same negotiator starts with the 1967 map, compares it to the 2011 map - and argues Israel's case for keeping certain areas. That's a substantive difference.
2011-06-14 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive