PALESTINIANS STICK TO STATEHOOD UN PLAN

JERUSALEM DIVIDED

ZECHARIAH 12:1-5 King James Bible
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.

JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

ZECHARIAH 14:1-9 King James Bible
1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED

NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.

PSALMS 97:3
3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.

REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200 MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)

ISAIAH 66:15-18
15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.

ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die).

ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.

JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)

EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

REVELATION 9:18
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)

LUKE 17:34-37
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).

MATTHEW 24:37-51
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Palestinians pledge to stick to UN statehood plan
– MAY 22,11 7:00AM

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – The Palestinians will keep up their campaign to win UN endorsement for a unilaterally declared state despite US opposition, a senior Palestinian official has said.Now that (Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu has proved that he rejects the peace process, there is no doubt that we shall continue with the strategic objective of turning to the United Nations in September, Nabil Shaath, a senior member of the Fatah movement, told AFP late on Saturday.Shaath, a former minister, said that the goal of the Palestinians is to win recognition by the world body of their promised state in the 1967 borders, referring to the lines that existed before that year's Six Day War.That would mean a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Israeli-annexed Arab east Jerusalem.On Wednesday, an official of the Fatah-dominated Palestine Liberation Organisation, Yasser Abed Rabbo, said that Israel would have to choose between negotiating on that basis or facing UN recognition of a state on the same lines.In a keynote policy speech in Washington on Thursday, US President Barack Obama called for a Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines but said the Palestinian bid for UN recognition would not bring them sovereignty.

Shortly before flying to Washington for talks with Obama, Netanyahu issued a scathing rejection of the 1967 frontiers as indefensible.He demanded that Obama reaffirm then-president George W. Bush's 2004 promise that the borders of a future Palestinian state would have to recognise the mushrooming of Israeli settlements.An aide to Palestinian president and Fatah head Mahmud Abbas described Netanyahu's position as an official rejection of Mr. Obama's initiative, of international legitimacy and of international law.

Top Jewish Americans ponder support for Obama
By Eric Johnson – Sat May 21, 5:51 pm ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Some prominent Jewish Americans are rethinking their support for President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election bid after he effectively called on Israel to give back territory it has occupied since 1967 to Palestinians.The backlash after Obama's keynote speech on the Middle East has Democratic Party operatives scrambling to mollify the Jewish community as the president prepares to seek a second term in the White House.Obama on Thursday called for any new Palestinian state to respect the borders as they were in 1967, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to tell him bluntly that his vision of how to achieve Middle East peace was unrealistic.He has in effect sought to reduce Israel's negotiation power and I condemn him for that, former New York Mayor Ed Koch told Reuters.Koch said he might not campaign or vote for Obama if Republicans nominate a pro-Israel candidate who offers an alternative to recent austere budgetary measures backed by Republicans in Congress.Koch donated $2,300 to Obama's campaign in 2008, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.I believed that then-Senator Obama would be as good as John McCain based on his statements at the time and based on his support of Israel. It turns out I was wrong,he said.Despite the stormy reaction to Obama's remarks, some commentators noted talk of the 1967 borders was nothing new.This has been the basic idea for at least 12 years. This is what Bill Clinton, Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat were talking about at Camp David, and later, at Taba, Jeffrey Goldberg wrote on The Atlantic website.

This is what George W. Bush was talking about with Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert. So what's the huge deal here? Exit polls from the 2008 election showed 78 percent of Jewish voters chose Obama over his Republican rival Senator McCain.I have spoken to a lot of people in the last couple of days -- former supporters -- who are very upset and feel alienated, billionaire real estate developer and publisher Mortimer Zuckerman said.He'll get less political support, fewer activists for his campaign, and I am sure that will extend to financial support as well.Zuckerman backed Obama during his 2008 presidential run and the newspaper he owns, the New York Daily News, endorsed the president.Obama's Chicago-based re-election campaign sought to play down reaction to the shift in the U.S. stance toward Israel.There's no question that we've reached out to the Jewish donor community, as we have to many other communities that strongly supported the president in 2008, a campaign spokeswoman said on Friday.The continued grassroots organizing and fundraising efforts of many prominent leaders in the Jewish community makes it clear this will remain a strong base of support in 2012.Texas-based real estate developer Kirk Rudy, who is a deputy finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee, said he exchanged phone calls and e-mails with a large network of supporters since the president's speech trying to take people's pulse and has not seen a strong backlash.I have seen very emphatic and robust support -- and financial support -- from the Jewish community, Rudy said, adding Obama received significant financial participation from the Jewish community at two fund-raisers in Austin, before the Middle East speech, that brought in roughly $2 million.Since the speech, Rudy has received e-mails from angry voters but the overwhelming majority of his network will continue to donate and not cross party lines, he said.But Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, wrote an open letter to the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, calling on it to cancel a scheduled address by Obama to the lobby group on Sunday.(Editing by John O'Callaghan)

Mideast peace talks would face huge obstacles
By DAN PERRY, Associated Press – 8:35AM MAY 22,11

JERUSALEM – President Barack Obama wants Israelis and Palestinians to return to the bargaining table. It seems unlikely this will happen anytime soon, but even if it did, the sides would find a formidable array of obstacles to agreement.There are huge gaps on important issues between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a right-winger for whom acquiescence to the very idea of Palestinian independence — popular around the world and now widely accepted in Israel, too — was a major ideological leap.But even if a more compliant Israeli leadership should return to power, a survey of the issues on the table appear to present overwhelming challenges. Here are some of the key obstacles:

BORDERS

Obama made waves with his declaration Thursday that a peace treaty should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps.It differed only in nuance from previous U.S. positions, but hearing it from Obama was a major Palestinian objective and it touched a deep nerve in Israel, too.Netanyahu swiftly declared the 44-year-old lines indefensible from a military point of view. And a look at the map shows why: Israel would be about 12 miles (19 kilometers) wide at its narrowest point; the West Bank surrounds the Israeli part of Jerusalem on three sides; and, on a clear day, the West Bank's strategic highlands are clearly visible from Tel Aviv, where about a quarter of Israelis live. If there is any chance that a future Palestine could turn hostile, these borders are a challenge.Are they sacrosanct — or somehow enshrined in international law? American officials are generally careful to use the word lines and not borders when referring to the demarcation that lasted from the end of the 1948-49 war after Israel declared independence until the 1967 war when it expanded its territory. That is no coincidence: these are temporary armistice lines between Israel and Jordan in the case of the West Bank, and Israel and Egypt in the case of Gaza.Might Israel keep some of its 1967 booty? That largely depends on how hard the Palestinians press, and how much leverage they can summon up. UN Security Council Resolution 242 of 1967 seemed to leave the door open — calling for withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict.It avoided use of the territories and left everyone to debate whether this meant Israel could keep some areas.

Borders were supposed to be the simplest issue in peace talks, yet in a numbing two decades of talking the sides could never quite agree.Gaza is simple enough, because Israel does not challenge the pre-1967 line and removed its relatively few settlers from the territory in 2005.But more than a quarter million Israelis live throughout the West Bank now — in addition to a similar number living in the occupied sector of Jerusalem. Most of the settlers live close to the pre-1967 border. That makes it seemingly practical to include them in a redrawn Israel. Obama accepts this idea, but calls for land Israel receives to be swapped for unpopulated parts of Israel adjacent to the West Bank.But must the swaps be equal in size? And how much land can they involve? That second question is critical because there are at least two major settlements — Ariel and Maale Adumim — that have tens of thousands of residents and are deep enough inside to disrupt things badly for the Palestinians. Israelis tend to assume creative cartography will finesse the issue. Palestinians know that going around Maaleh Adumim would turn a 15-mile (25-kilometer) drive from Ramallah to Bethlehem, major West Bank centers, into a circuitous ordeal.Years of discussion have not led to agreement, suggesting the issue is more complicated than appears. For the Palestinians, getting even all of the West Bank and Gaza means accepting the loss of almost four-fifths of historic Palestine and they are in no mood to give up even more. And the Israelis — looking at the current map, and not so much at history — are basically uncomfortable with the smallness of their state.

JERUSALEM

Dividing Jerusalem is even tougher than negotiating the West Bank borders.The walled Old City, an area of less than a square kilometer (mile), houses some of the world's holiest sites for Jews, Muslims and Christians. Neither Israel nor Palestine could easily give it up to the other. Before 1967, it was part of Jordan — but the UN plan called for internationalization of a wide area around the entire city.During past peace talks, the sides spoke of each controlling its own holy sites — but were not known to have reached a detailed understanding of how two states could divide between them an ancient enclave full of warrens and alleyways, ancient ruins and underground tunnels and excavations. Would there be a border? Who would be in charge of security? At one point there was even talk of the most explosive site — known as the Temple Mount for Jews, and Haram as-Sharif for Muslims — being placed under divine sovereignty to sidestep the problem.But even beyond the Old City, Jerusalem's current demographics defy a division anywhere near as clean as, for example, the wall that once divided East and West Berlin.After 1967, Israel expanded the municipal borders into the West Bank. Over the years it has ringed the Arab-populated part of the city with Jewish neighborhoods. The Palestinians call them settlements no different from those in the West Bank, and indeed, some have the appearance of distinct hilltop communities. Some 200,000 Jews now live in such developments in the occupied area of the city, alongside about 300,000 Palestinians and 300,000 Jews in the western part of Jerusalem.

The sides have discussed the principle of each keeping those areas of the city where its people live — but again, without much detail. On the ground, such a division would yield an astoundingly kaleidoscopic jumble, with islands of Jews surrounded by Palestinian areas and vice versa. A light railway planned for the city could end up crossing several borders a minute.Jerusalem's mayor, Nir Barkat, put aside arguments about national rights and religious holy sites and argued plainly, in a meeting with foreign media this month, that a division of the city was no longer a practical possibility.Yet to the Palestinians, Jerusalem is the heart of their country, and it is difficult to see them accepting a merely face-saving formula — such as access to, or some sovereignty over, their holy sites. Peace probably requires doing what Barkat argues is impossible.

REFUGEES

The Palestinians have always demanded a right of return for Palestinian refugees and their millions of descendants to their families' previous homes in Israel — even though in most cases the homes, and in some even the villages, no longer exist.For Israelis across the political spectrum this is a non-starter. The main reason they did not annex the West Bank and Gaza — and the reason why many are willing to part with such strategic territories — can be boiled down to a desire to ensure their Jewish majority.On occasion, Palestinian officials would hint that a formula was possible that would satisfy everyone — perhaps, for example, with the right declared in principle but implemented only for a small number. A 2002 peace initiative by the Arab League made only indirect reference to the refugees, giving some Israelis hope.
But the deep Palestinian yearning is still there, seeming to grow stronger with each generation that grows up disenfranchised in countries such as Syria and Lebanon. Youth who have never seen their ancestral land carry keys to vanished family homes. Earlier this month, thousands risked their lives trying to breach Israel's borders, and several were killed by bullets fired from rattled Israeli troops.At the White House on Friday, Netanyahu said the Palestinians must be told clearly that a return is not going to happen. With this statement, the divisive Netanyahu spoke for the vast majority of Israelis. In his speech a day earlier, Obama had sidestepped the vexing issue.According to the original timetable of the 1990s, a comprehensive deal, ending a century of conflict, was to be reached by May 1999. That never happened, and still seems far from imminent today. What, then, are the alternatives? For one thing, the Palestinians say they will ask the United Nations for recognition of a state along the pre-1967 lines in September. Obama is trying to dissuade them.

If the Palestinians proceed, the gambit promises to be messy. Since the United States can veto any move in the Security Council, the Palestinians' bid would likely pass only in the General Assembly that has declarative but not practical powers. Still, such a recognition could spark other moves, including economic boycotts against Israel and mass public protest in the West Bank. Israel does not take it lightly.A host of other scenarios, in the short and long term, could possibly unfold:

-An interim deal: Israel would probably jump at a plan establishing a Palestinian state on most of the West Bank and all of Gaza, leaving Jerusalem and the other issues for later, and not requiring the Palestinians to forswear all future claims. The Palestinians, fearing the temporary will become permanent, reject this out of hand — but world pressure might change that.

-A unilateral pullout: In 2006, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he would unilaterally pull out of most of the West Bank, essentially implementing the interim scenario without Palestinian agreement. But the Gaza precedent works against this in Israeli public opinion: Israel pulled out of the coastal strip, Hamas militants soon seized it, and the area has been used as a launching pad for rockets against Israel. But some variant of unilateral pullout may regain favor, especially if Israel faces mass Palestinian unrest that gets out of hand.

-Outside intervention: It seems far-fetched today, but some Palestinians speak of asking the UN for a trusteeship over their areas, not unlike the British mandate over all of Palestine conferred by the League of Nations in 1922. Israel would find it tough to rebuff. It seems unlikely except as a very last resort, because it would probably require the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority and a sort of admission that the Palestinians aren't ready for independence.

-A binational state: Few on either side say they want this today. But if Israel cannot extricate itself from the West Bank, in the long run it would face pressure to give the Palestinians the right to vote, much as South Africa did when ending white minority rule. The Palestinians are already about half the population in Israel plus the West Bank and Gaza — and barring massive Jewish immigration they will very likely become the majority. In an irony of history, Jewish nationalism would have helped bring down the Jewish nation-state.

Israel's leader denies crisis with US
By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press – Sun May 22, 12:11 am ET

WASHINGTON – Israel's leader, trying to defuse reports of a crisis with the U.S. over his rejection of President Barack Obama's proposed foundation for future Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, said Saturday that media accounts of the disagreement have been blown way out of proportion.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had bluntly criticized Obama's call earlier this week to base future negotiations on Palestinian statehood on Israel's boundaries before it captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. He publicly reiterated that opposition while sitting beside Obama in the Oval Office on Friday.On Saturday, Netanyahu stood firm by his insistence that Israel could not withdraw to its prewar lines, negotiate with a Palestinian government including violently anti-Israel Hamas militants or repatriate allow millions of Palestinians to homes in Israel that they or their families fled or were driven from during the fighting over Israel's 1948 creation.But he told The Associated Press that media accounts of the disagreements have been blown way out of proportion.It's true we have some differences of opinion, but these are among friends, Netanyahu said.There should be no doubt about the strength of the American-Israeli relationship and President Obama's commitment to Israel and its security,he added.In a Mideast policy speech on Thursday, Obama gave unprecedented prominence to Washington's long-held stand on the future borders of Israel and a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem. Although his comments did not substantively differ from previously articulated U.S. positions, he sent shudders through the Israeli leadership by acceding to Palestinian pressure to explicitly enunciate this stance.

An essential part of what Obama proposed was that Israelis and Palestinians would also have to agree to land swaps that would allow Israel to hold on to major Jewish settlements, a point Netanyahu failed to mention when he declared the 1967 lines to be militarily indefensible.From the very first days of his presidency, Obama has been pushing hard to wring an elusive peace agreement from Israel and the Palestinians, who stopped negotiating in late 2008, save a brief period this past September.The Palestinians have not yet indicated whether his public statement on their hoped-for state's borders would be enough to bring them back to the negotiating table and drop their campaign to have the U.N. recognize their state unilaterally in September, a move both the U.S. and Israel oppose.The Palestinians have refused to talk to Israel as long as it continues to build homes for Jews in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. Israel has refused to reinstate and expand a 10-month settlement construction slowdown that expired in late September.In the meantime, the two sides are mired in mutual distrust and divided by more than just the border dispute. Should they ever return to the negotiating table, even bigger problems loom with regard to resolving disputes over the status of contested Jerusalem, and a solution for the refugees.Netanyahu has said he would not share Jerusalem with the Palestinians, who want the eastern sector of the holy city for the capital of a future state. No Israeli government has been willing to consider anything but a token repatriation of Palestinian refugees, for fear a mass return would dilute the Jewish character of the state.

Palestinians more skeptical about Mideast talks
By KARIN LAUB, Associated Press – Sat May 21, 9:23 pm ET

RAMALLAH, West Bank – Palestinian officials said Saturday that Israel's dismissive response to President Barack Obama's new Mideast peace proposal proves there's not enough common ground for meaningful negotiations.Despite such skepticism, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas seemed in no hurry to announce his next move. He instructed his advisers to avoid public comment, presumably to keep attention focused on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who appears to be set on a collision course with Obama.The U.S. president said this week that Israeli-Palestinian border talks should be based on Israel's pre-1967 war lines, with mutually agreed land swaps, adopting a formula long sought by the Palestinians, but rejected by Netanyahu.In finally presenting his own vision of the rough outlines of a peace deal, Obama stepped deeper into the Mideast fray after more than two years on the sidelines. However, he did not present a plan of action with his ideas, and the responses from both sides indicated that chances for renewing talks, largely on hold since 2008, are increasingly remote.Obama and Netanyahu are to address the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC on Sunday and Monday, respectively. The Israeli leader also plans to address Congress on Tuesday. A White House spokesman has said Obama will speak of the strong bond between Israel and the U.S., but not deliver a policy speech.The strain in the relationship became apparent on Friday, after a two-hour White House meeting between Obama and Netanyahu. In front of TV cameras, Netanyahu at times seemed to lecture Obama, and suggested the president's ideas are unrealistic, saying that peace based on illusions will quickly fail.Among Abbas' senior aides, meanwhile, there seemed to be some disagreement over tactics.Chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said it's best for the Palestinians to keep quiet and let Netanyahu do the talking.

We accept two states based on the 1967 lines, with agreed swaps ... and we want Mr. Netanyahu to say this sentence, Erekat said.We hope to hear it in front of Congress, at AIPAC, in Hebrew, in Arabic, in Chinese, in any language.Erekat said it's premature to talk about what to do should Obama fail to renew peace talks. Abbas' aides have been preparing to bypass negotiations, with a bid in September to win U.N. recognition of a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, the territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War.Another senior aide, Nabil Shaath, said he expects Abbas to renew his support for the U.N. option in coming days — unless Obama somehow persuades Netanyahu to change course and accept the 1967 borders as a baseline.It's very clear that Obama's attempt (to restart talks) was shot down by Mr. Netanyahu,Shaath said Saturday, adding that unless there's an Israeli reversal,we will continue our work for September and will continue to seek countries that recognize Palestine.It's unlikely Netanyahu will change course, since he answers to a right-wing coalition at home and told Obama on Friday that the 1967 borders would be indefensible. Netanyahu did not address the idea of swaps, which would presumably enable Israel to annex parts of the West Bank with large Jewish settlements, provided it compensates the Palestinians with the same amount of Israeli land.Netanyahu has repeatedly said he is willing to resume negotiations, but Abbas has said he won't do so as long as Israel keeps building homes for Jews in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.Since Obama's speech on Thursday, Abbas has been consulting with Arab foreign ministers on the phone and headed to Jordan on Saturday for talks with King Abdullah II. He also is to meet with leaders of the PLO and his Fatah movement and has asked for a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers later this month, Erekat said.Obama has warned the Palestinians that a U.N. bid would not get them a state.However, Abbas might not be able to abort the move because of mounting expectations at home, said Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO Executive Committee.I personally predict public opinion is bent on going to the U.N.,Ashrawi said. Netanyahu managed to undermine every single attempt at launching serious negotiations.There seems to be some confusion over what the U.N. General Assembly could offer the Palestinians if a recognition bid is vetoed by the U.S. in the Security Council. An internal Palestinian document said the Palestinians should then ask the General Assembly to establish a U.N. trusteeship in the Israeli-occupied territories, while Shaath suggested the Palestinians could at best win an upgraded observer status.

In Israel, senior officials played down the potential damage to Israeli-U.S. relations following the clash over Obama's peace vision.I think that when we hear all the details, it will be clear that the meeting was less dramatic than it was made out to be, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, a centrist, told Israel TV's Channel 2. I don't think the president said you have to go back to the '67 lines. He said you need to talk about borders based on the '67 lines with the appropriate swaps.Still, Netanyahu's blunt rejection of much of Obama's vision seemed to further isolate Israel.The Quartet of Mideast negotiators comprising the U.S., the United Nations, the European Union and Russia said it supports the president's parameters and is in full agreement about the urgent need to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Associated Press writer Aron Heller in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Latest developments in Arab world's unrest
By The Associated Press – Sat May 21, 5:59 pm ET

SYRIA-Syrian security forces open fire on a funeral procession for slain anti-government protesters, pushing the number of people reported killed in a two-month uprising to more than 900 and making it one of the deadliest of the Arab Spring. The latest bloodshed suggests that crackdowns by President Bashar Assad's regime show no signs of easing despite international sanctions and condemnations from the U.S. and its allies.

LIBYA-NATO widens its campaign to weaken Moammar Gadhafi's regime with airstrikes on desert command centers and sea patrols to intercept ships, the military alliance says, amid signs of growing public anger over fuel shortages in government-held territory.In the coastal town of Zawiya, crowds apparently outraged by dwindling fuel supplies tried to stab foreign reporters in a minibus on a state-supervised trip to the Tunisian border. The journalists were not harmed in the attack.

EGYPT-An Egyptian judge postpones the trial of the country's former interior minister and four of his top aides in the deadly shooting of protesters after chaos broke out in the courtroom, with families of the victims shouting Butcher! Butcher! at the defendants.Habib el-Adly is the highest-ranking former regime official to be brought to trial so far in the killings of 846 protesters and the injury of thousands of others during the uprising that forced ex-president Hosni Mubarak to step down on Feb. 11. If convicted, el-Adly could face the death penalty.Meanwhile, in the port city of Alexandria, the trial resumes of two police officers accused in the killing of an Egyptian whose death helped spark the uprising that toppled Mubarak. A judge set June 30 for a verdict in the highly charged case.

YEMEN-Under pressure from protesters and regional allies, Yemen's president says he will sign a deal to step down after 32 years in power. Still, he condemned the proposal as a coup and warned the U.S. and Europe that his departure will open the door for al-Qaida to seize control of the fragile nation on the edge of Arabia.

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

DANIEL 11:40-43
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Fatah, Hamas leaders to meet Russian officials
– Sat May 21, 11:50 am ET

MOSCOW (AFP) – Members of rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas will meet very senior Russian officials on Monday during their informal three-day visit to Moscow, a Palestinian negotiator said on Saturday.The Palestinian delegation arrived in Russia on Friday evening after concluding mechanisms for implementing a reconciliation agreement between the two sides earlier in the week.A member of the so-called Middle East Quarter, Russia backs making east Jerusalem the capital of a unified Palestine and is also in contact with Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip and is viewed as a terrorist organisation by Israel.One of the Palestinian negotiators, Mustafa Barghouti, said the group planned to hold a very important meeting with Russian officials on Monday.It will be a very senior meeting, Barghouti added.The visit has not been formally announced by Russia and the foreign ministry was not immediately available for comment.Barghouti said the Palestinians were formally invited to Moscow by a Russian Middle East studies institute.The Palestinian unity pact has been strongly opposed by Israel, whose relations with Russia were strained this week by the expulsion of its military attache on spying charges from Moscow.

Palestinians set on U.N. statehood bid in September
By Mohammed Assadi and Ali Sawafta – Sat May 21, 11:25 am ET

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Palestinians will seek recognition as a U.N. member-state in September given the deadlock in U.S.-brokered peacemaking with Israel, a senior Palestinian official said on Saturday.Nabil Shaath urged President Barack Obama, who on Thursday criticized the planned move at the U.N. general assembly, to join countries that have already endorsed a Palestinian state taking in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.Another Palestinian official, Nabil Abu Rdainah, said the drive to win statehood status unilaterally could be forestalled should Israel accept the demand to extend a freeze on its settlement on occupied land so that negotiations can resume.But such rapprochement looked highly unlikely after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hosted in Washington on Friday, sparred with Obama over a new U.S. call for the future Palestinian state to have a border approximating to the West Bank's boundary before Israel captured it in the 1967 war.Of course we will go to the United Nations, Shaath, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, told Reuters.Especially after Netanyahu used the old pretext that he needs 'defensible borders' to keep stealing our land, control the Jordan Valley and create demographic facts on the ground. Diplomats see majority support for the Palestinians in the U.N. General Assembly. But the statehood vote would have first to be approved in the Security Council, where the United States -- which insists on a negotiated peace accord -- has a veto.We urge President Obama to recognize the Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, Shaath said. We are going to the United Nations in September, using all non-violent means.

SYMBOLIC ACTIONS

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who had earlier warned his compatriots that a pro-Palestinian diplomatic tsunami was about to crest, welcomed Obama's remarks about the U.N. lobbying.The president has erased the September issue. It's very important, Barak told Israel's Channel Two television.In February, the United States struck down a Security Council motion that would have branded the West Bank settlements as illegal. Analysts, noting that the 14 other council members voted in favor, said the Palestinians appeared to be signaling that Washington was out of step with an international consensus.Delivering a major Middle East policy speech on Thursday, Obama cautioned Palestinians against efforts to delegitimise Israel.He added: Symbolic actions to isolate Israel at the United Nations in September won't create an independent state.Obama questioned the viability of a power-share deal forged last month between Abbas's Fatah faction and the armed, rival Hamas Islamists who control Gaza and spurn the Jewish state.But the Palestinians, who have long complained of Israeli unilateralism, were buoyed by Obama's vision of borders based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps.Israel disputes the Palestinian claim on all of the territory, which was previously held by Jordan and is now peppered with Jewish settlements. Gaza, the other half of the Palestinian polity, was evacuated by the Israelis in 2005.Abbas spokesman Abu Rdainah said Palestinians preferred to pursue peace with Israel rather look to the United Nations.Our position is to give an opportunity, until September, for going back to the negotiating table based on a halt to settlement activity,he said.It would be our first choice.(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Alison Williams)

Turkey's Gul: Hamas must recognize Israel right to exist– Sat May 21, 10:21 am ET

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey's President Abdullah Gul has urged the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas to recognize Israel's right to exist, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.In an interview a day after U.S. President Barack Obama delivered a speech on the Middle East, Gul also hailed Obama's reference to creating a Palestinian state based on Israel's pre-1967 borders as a very important step.
Turkey has regarded Hamas as a key factor in the Middle East peace process since it won Palestinian elections in 2006.Gul said President Obama has a point when he said in his speech that Israel could not be expected to negotiate with a body that does not recognize Israel's right to exist.Asked if he was willing to press Hamas on that issue, Gul said, I already advised them.In a meeting with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Ankara in 2006, Gul said he told Meshaal, you have to be rational about recognizing Israel's right to exist.Gul said he believed Hamas was ready to recognize Israel in its pre-1967 borders but wants that to happen simultaneously with Israel's recognition of a Palestinian state.Ankara's ties with former close ally Israel broke down over its military operation in the Gaza strip in 2008 and hostility was fueled by a Israeli commando raid on aid flotilla which killed nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists in May last year.Turkey has demanded that Israel end its blockade of the Gaza strip and its aggressive stance on the Palestinian issue has created tensions between Ankara and Washington.The paper said Obama's speech was being interpreted by Turkish officials as a significant if nuanced change.

Gul also welcomed Obama's pledge of debt relief and aid for Egypt and Tunisia as they struggle in the wake of popular revolutions. But he said a much larger scale Marshall Plan for the Middle East was needed.Such a fund should be run by the World Bank and draw on contributions from countries in the region, as well as from traditional donors in the West, Gul said.(Writing by Daren Butler)

US will help seal Israel-Palestinian peace: Jordan
– Sat May 21, 10:14 am ET

AMMAN (AFP) – Peace between Israel and the Palestinians will be sealed with US help, Jordan's King Abdullah II said on Saturday as he urged American businessmen to invest in his country.Jordan's commitment to the future is secure. It has driven our long work for regional peace... and with America's help, peace will succeed, said the Jordanian monarch who held talks this week in Washington with US officials.

Abdullah II did not provide any reasons for his optimism.

His remarks come a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lectured US President Barack Obama at the Oval Office against chasing what he called a Middle East peace based on illusions.Netanyahu emphatically vowed Israel would never return to its 1967 borders and laid down a set of non-negotiable conditions for peace talks -- a day after Obama called on Israel to accept a return to territorial lines in place before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, with mutual land swaps with Palestinians to frame a secure peace.The Jordanian monarch meanwhile invited US business to invest in his country.Our same belief in the future is driving our determination to open the doors of enterprise and opportunity, he said.But we cannot do it alone. We need partners, to build prosperity that lasts -- in my country, and in my region, he said stressing the region offered 350 million consumers and vast potential.

Turkey warns Israel over new Gaza flotilla
– Sat May 21, 10:08 am ET

ANKARA (AFP) – Turkey on Saturday warned Israel against another act of bloodshed in international waters after activists announced plans to send a new aid flotilla to the blockaded Gaza Strip.It should be known that Turkey will give the necessary response to any repeated act of provocation by Israel on the high seas, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in an interview on NTV television.Those who believe Turkey should take certain steps to stop (the new flotilla) must first warn Israel not to repeat the human tragedy it caused last year, he said.On May 31 last year, Israeli marines swarmed aboard the Turkish flagship of an international aid flotilla bound for Gaza, killing nine Turks in international waters and plunging ties with Ankara into deep crisis.The Istanbul-based Islamist charity which had spearheaded the mission said Friday that a new convoy of ships would sail to Gaza in the last week of June.Around 1,500 activists from more than 100 countries will take part in the convoy, organised by 22 civic groups, it said.Asked whether Ankara had made any attempt to dissuade the group from the campaign, Davutoglu said: We have never encouraged any convoy. We have shared our views about the safety of our citizens with all related parties. That was the case last year and it is not any different this time.The minister insisted however that his Islamist-rooted government "cannot give instructions to civil society and that Israel's unlawful blockade of Gaza lay at the core of the tensions.

He urged the United States and the international community to back a recent reconciliation deal between the radical Palestinian group Hamas, which controls Gaza, and the secular Fatah faction of Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas.If the division of the Palestinian authorities is healed, the conditions that serve as Israel's justification for the blockade will be eradicated... and there will be no need for an aid convoy, he told NTV.Relations between one-time allies Turkey and Israel remain stuck in crisis after several fence-mending meetings over the past year failed to yield results.Turkey, which has recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv, insists that the Jewish state should apologise and compensate the victims' families.

Face to face, Netanyahu rejects Obama on borders
By BEN FELLER, AP White House Correspondent – Fri May 20, 11:54 pm ET

WASHINGTON – In a blunt display of differences, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the idea of using his country's 1967 boundaries as the basis for a neighboring Palestinian state on Friday, declaring his objections face-to-face to President Barack Obama who had raised the idea just 24 hours earlier in an effort to revive stalled Mideast peace talks.Though the two leaders, meeting in the Oval Office, found cordial and predictable agreement on the other central element that Obama outlined in his Mideast address Thursday — ironclad Israeli security alongside a Palestinian nation — progress on the bedrock issue of borders seemed as elusive as ever.In his speech, Obama gave unprecedented prominence to a long-held U.S. stand that Israel opposes: A Palestinian state should be shaped around the border lines that existed before the 1967 war in which Israel took control of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. An essential part of what Obama proposed was that Israelis and Palestinians would also have to agree to swaps of land to account for Israeli settlements and other current conditions, a point Netanyahu failed to mention.

While Israel is prepared to make generous compromises for peace, it cannot go back to the 1967 lines, Netanyahu declared.These lines are indefensible.As they sat together for public comments after their private meeting, Obama sought to put the disagreement in the best light, and in the context of a relationship of two allies — one, however, showing strains of impatience.Obviously there are some differences between us in the precise formulations and language, Obama said.That's going to happen between friends.He quickly added in a reassurance to Netanyahu: What we are in complete accord about is that a true peace can only occur if the ultimate resolution allows Israel to defend itself against threats, and that Israel's security will remain paramount in U.S. evaluation of any prospective deal.Obama and Netanyahu showed cordiality before the cameras. The president listened intently, his hand cupping his chin, as Netanyahu spoke passionately about his country's plight and how the path to peace should run.Remember that, before 1967, Israel was all of nine miles wide, Netanyahu said, emphasizing his words with his hands.It was half the width of the Washington Beltway. And these were not the boundaries of peace; they were the boundaries of repeated wars, because the attack on Israel was so attractive.Obama, frustrated by Mideast peace talks that have collapsed, is seeking to get both sides to contend with the issues of borders and security. Even progress on those enormous fronts would still leave unsettled the fate of Jerusalem and of Palestinian refugees. Netanyahu underscored just how difficult that last issue is alone, declaring that Palestinians will not be allowed to settle in Israel as part of any peace plan.It's not going to happen. Everybody knows it's not going to happen, he said.And I think it's time to tell the Palestinians forthrightly it's not going to happen.Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Netanyahu's comments with Obama were tantamount to his total rejection of the Obama vision and speech.Without Mr. Netanyahu committing to two states on the 1967 lines, with mutually agreed swaps, he is not a partner to the peace process,Erekat said.I think, when President Obama gave him a choice between dictation and negotiations, he chose dictation.

On the border matter, the Obama administration up until now has tried to summarize the positions of each party but had not taken a position itself. Obama's direct reference to the 1967 borders and land swaps in his speech incensed Israel, adding tension to the atmosphere of Netanyahu's visit.As Obama pushes for a return to negotiations that he championed prominently last year, that prospect seems bleak.
Netanyahu said his nation could not negotiate with a Palestinian unity government that includes the radical Hamas movement, which refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist. He said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had to choose between continuing the deal with Hamas and making peace with Israel.Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Netanyahu's rejection of a return to 1967 lines was clear evidence that the negotiations option was a waste of time.The comments from Netanyahu and Obama, after a longer-than-scheduled meeting that lasted over an hour-and-a-half, shed little light on how the peace process will advance.The two leaders did not take questions from the press, and White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was unable in a subsequent briefing to point to any concrete signs of progress.Netanyahu is to address Congress on Tuesday to press Israel's position.On Thursday, Netanyahu was informed shortly before Obama's speech of its contents by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to U.S. officials. Netanyahu sought in vain to get the border language removed from the speech, the officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive diplomatic exchange.Associated Press writers Erica Werner in Washington, Amy Teibel traveling with Netanyahu, Karin Laub in Ramallah, West Bank and Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City contributed to this report.

UN, EU, Russia back Obama's Mideast vision
By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press – Fri May 20, 1:13 pm ET

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations, European Union and Russia gave strong backing Friday to President Barack Obama's vision for achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinians.They agreed that Obama's starting point — borders for Palestine, security for Israel — provides a foundation for Israelis and Palestinians to reach a final resolution of the conflict through serious and substantive negotiations and mutual agreement on all core issues.The U.N., EU, and Russia, along with the United States, comprise the Quartet of international mediators which has been trying for nearly a decade to promote a Mideast peace settlement.The Quartet members said in a statement issued Friday that they are in full agreement about the urgent need to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.The Quartet reiterates its strong appeal to the parties to overcome the current obstacles and resume direct negotiations and mutual agreement on all core issues, the statement said.In a major speech Thursday on the Mideast, Obama for the first time explicitly endorsed the borders that existed before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war as a starting point for negotiations — a key Palestinian demand. He added that there should be land swaps agreed to by both sides, which could accommodate some existing Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

The U.S. stance was not a major policy change, since the United States — along with the international community and even past Israeli governments — previously endorsed an agreement building on the 1967 lines.As for security, Obama said Israel must be able to defend itself by itself against any threat so there must be provisions to prevent terrorism, stop infiltration of weapons, and provide effective border security. He also said Israeli military forces must make a full and phased withdrawal coordinated with the Palestinians' assumption of security responsibility in a sovereign, non-militarized state.Britain, France and Germany had been seeking a Quartet meeting in April to endorse the outlines of a peace settlement they proposed — which also included starting negotiations based on the pre-1967 war lines. But the U.S. blocked the meeting, saying it wasn't the right time and the Obama administration didn't think a Quartet meeting would produce anything that would help restart the talks.Friday's Quartet statement made no mention of a future Quartet meeting.September looms large in the quest for Mideast peace because Israel and the Palestinians have agreed on Obama's target of September 2011 for a peace agreement, a date endorsed by the EU and much of the world.

When U.S.-brokered direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations resumed last September, Obama announced at the General Assembly's annual ministerial meeting that a peace treaty should be signed in a year. But those talks collapsed weeks later after Israel ended its freeze on building settlements.The Palestinians insist they will not resume peace talks until Israel stops building settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem — lands it captured in the 1967 war and which the Palestinians want for their future state.Israel maintains that the Palestinians should not be setting conditions for talks and that settlements didn't stop them from negotiating in the past.Obama met Friday at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Before his departure from Israel, Netanyahu dismissed Obama's position on the pre-1967 borders as indefensible, saying it would leave major Jewish settlements outside Israel.Egypt's U.N. Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz said Obama's support for the pre-1967 war borders will help the Palestinians win U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state.He linked Obama's backing for the borders to the Palestinian campaign to get two-thirds of the U.N. General Assembly — at least 128 of its 192 member states — to recognize Palestine as a state by September. Palestine is already recognized by 112 countries and he predicted the Palestinians would get support from at least 130 nations in the next few months.But for a newly created Palestine to become a member of the United Nations, Abdelaziz said, it must get support from the Security Council, where the United States, Israel's closest ally, has veto power.If they put a resolution in the General Assembly requesting the Security Council to recognize the state of Palestine and this resolution passes ... with 170 or 180 votes, I'm sure that this is going to put a lot of moral pressure on the Security Council, and particularly on the United States, in order not to veto, Abdelaziz told a group of reporters on Thursday.He said he didn't know whether the Palestinians will push for a resolution in September because Palestinian leaders are still discussing what to do.In his speech Thursday, Obama rejected efforts by the Palestinians to unilaterally take their bid for statehood to the U.N., saying, Symbolic actions to isolate Israel at the United Nations in September won't create an independent state.