Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet separately with American presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in NY on Sunday, an official in his office said.
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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Israel has avoided substantive talks that would pave the way for the elusive two-state solution where both countries would live side by side in peace.
The Palestinians have rebuffed Netanyahu’s past offers for meetings, saying there is no point given his hard line positions on all core issues.
Abbas continually blasted Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands, while also criticising the U.N. Security Council for not coming down harder on the Jewish state’s settlement expansion.
“You have a choice to make”, he said, “You can continue to stoke hatred, as you did today, or you can confront hatred and work with me to establish peace between our two nations”.
Netanyahu said his state’s counterpart, the Palestinian leadership, has encouraged terrorist acts and launched bombs into Israel’s cities.
Abbas also called for the United Kingdom to apologize for the 1917 Balfour Declaration that espoused support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said he “perceived a new dynamic developing” after meeting with Arab leaders and others involved in the peace effort this week at the United Nations. “Israel, where women fly fighter jets, lead major corporations, head universities, preside, twice, over the Supreme Court, and have served as speaker of the Knesset and prime minister”.
Cruz has said he appreciates the objective of the letter but criticized its insistence on a so-called “two-state solution”.
Israel and AIPAC do not want any part of it. Jacob Nagel, the Israeli national security adviser who signed the defense assistance agreement, last week said he was aware of Graham’s plans – and that Israeli officials had made clear to the senator that they opposed them.
Netanyahu also stressed Israel’s position in the global fight against Islamist terror and its unique role as a bastion of democracy and equal rights in the Middle East, where fanaticism and autocracy flourish.
Most member states of the United Nations have already recognised the state of Palestine, but Israel and a number of other countries, including the UK, the USA and Germany, have not.
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He told a news conference Friday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly’s annual ministerial meeting that he keeps asking Russian Federation and Iran whether they favor a military or political solution.
