Netanyahu to Obama: No return to 1967 lines

Washington (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday firmly rejected President Barack Obama's call for an approximate return to the borders that existed before the 1967 Middle East war, telling the U.S. leader that such a move is impossible in light of current security concerns and demographic realities.

The two leaders pledged to work together, however, in the pursuit of a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.

"Israel wants peace. I want peace," Netanyahu said while meeting with Obama at the White House. But "a peace based on illusions will crash eventually on the rocks of Middle Eastern reality," he said.

"Obviously there are some differences between us in the precise formulations and language, and that's going to happen between friends," Obama said.

"But 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. evaluations of any prospective peace deal."

Both men stressed that the presence of the militant group Hamas in a Palestinian government would be extremely problematic for future peace talks. The United States and Israel consider Hamas a terrorist group.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas "has to decide if he negotiates or keeps his pact with Hamas, or makes peace with Israel," Netanyahu said. "I hope he makes the choice -- the right choice -- in choosing peace with Israel."

But Abbas' spokesman said it was Netanyahu who was derailing the peace process.

"These statements are an official declaration that he is not ready for true peace based on justice and international resolutions," presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh told the WAFA news agency.

Abu Rudeineh said the Palestinian government independent and has "nothing to do with Fatah or Hamas. What Netanyahu is saying are excuses to avoid sitting at the negotiating table," he said.

Obama's call Thursday for an approximate return to the 1967 borders, which made official a long-held but rarely stated U.S. position, has increased tension between the two longstanding allies at a moment of turbulent change in the Arab world.

Israel seized the West Bank, Gaza, Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula during the 1967 war. The Sinai has since been returned to Egypt. Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981, a move not recognized by the international community and condemned by Syria, which still claims the land.

Hamas now controls Gaza, while the more moderate Palestinian group Fatah administers the West Bank, site of a growing number of Israeli settlements. Ultimately, the Palestinians are aiming to unite Gaza and the West Bank under the authority of a new state.

The Israeli government has repeatedly said, among other things, that peace talks with the Palestinians cannot seriously proceed without firmer security guarantees and a clear recognition of the Jewish state's right to exist.

Obama said Thursday that the borders of Israel and a Palestinian state "should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states."

His position largely agreed with the Palestinian negotiating stance on border issues in the staggering peace process, now stalled by disputes over Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the role of Hamas in the Palestinian leadership.

At the same time, Obama reiterated unwavering U.S. support for Israel's security Thursday, and he endorsed certain negotiating positions of Netanyahu's government, including an incremental handover of security responsibilities by Israel when conditions on the ground allow it.

He also said a future Palestinian state would have to remain "nonmilitarized."

Obama sought to undercut momentum for a declaration of Palestinian statehood at the United Nations in September, warning that "symbolic actions to isolate Israel (at the U.N.) won't create an independent state."

The president said he recognizes that two "wrenching and emotional issues" remain unresolved: the future status of Jerusalem, which is claimed by both sides, and the fate of Palestinian refugees who claim Israel as their homeland.

Netanyahu, considered hawkish on security matters, reacted coolly to the president's speech. He has argued that the 1967 borders are now "indefensible" for Israel, and noted that major population centers are located beyond those lines.

Hamas also rejected the terms outlined in the speech, calling them "empty of concrete significance."

Israel, meanwhile, announced the approval Thursday of new projects to build 1,500 housing units in Har Homa and Pisgat Zeev, which are outside the 1967 borders. The projects had previously received initial approval, said Roye Lackmanovich, an Interior Ministry spokesman.

Israeli officials said before Friday's meeting that Netanyahu intended to use the occasion not only to stress his opposition to a restoration of the 1967 lines, but also to seek specifics on the type of security guarantees envisioned by the president, including the assertion that a Palestinian state would remain nonmilitarized.

Netanyahu also wanted Obama to clarify his stance on both Hamas and the so-called "right of return" for Palestinian families who left Israel after the state's founding in 1948. Israel has repeatedly warned that it cannot allow those families to return without sacrificing its identity as a Jewish state.

Netanyahu made clear after Friday's meeting that the families of the 1948 refugees cannot settle within Israel's borders.

While Netanyahu and other conservative members of the Israeli government have been critical of Obama in the wake of Thursday's speech, the president also has defenders within the Knesset, Israel's parliament.

Tzipi Livni, an opposition leader and former foreign minister, applauded Obama's call for a two-state solution.

"An American president that supports a two-state solution represents the Israeli interest and is not anti-Israeli," Livni said. "President Obama's call to start negotiations represents Israel's interests."

Also, the group known as the Middle East Quartet -- which includes the United Nations, Russia, the European Union and the United States -- issued a statement Friday offering its "strong support" for Obama's "vision of Israeli-Palestinian peace."

The White House has been heavily focused on Middle East issues this week. Obama met with Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday and will address the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, an influential pro-Israel lobbying group, on Sunday.

CNN's Elise Labott, Kevin Flower and Tom Cohen contributed to this report.

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Netanyahu: No return to 1967 lines

Washington (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday firmly rejected President Barack Obama's call for an approximate return to the borders that existed before the 1967 Middle East war, telling the U.S. leader that such a move is impossible in light of current security concerns and demographic realities.

The two leaders pledged to work together, however, in the pursuit of a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.

"Israel wants peace. I want peace," Netanyahu said while meeting with Obama at the White House. But "a peace based on illusions will crash eventually on the rocks of Middle Eastern reality," he said.

"Obviously there are some differences between us in the precise formulations and language, and that's going to happen between friends," Obama said.

"But 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. evaluations of any prospective peace deal."

Both men stressed that the presence of the militant group Hamas in a Palestinian government would be extremely problematic for future peace talks. The United States and Israel consider Hamas a terrorist group.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas "has to decide if he negotiates or keeps his pact with Hamas, or makes peace with Israel," Netanyahu said. "I hope he makes the choice -- the right choice -- in choosing peace with Israel."

But Abbas' spokesman said it was Netanyahu who was derailing the peace process.

"These statements are an official declaration that he is not ready for true peace based on justice and international resolutions," presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh told the WAFA news agency.

Abu Rudeineh said the Palestinian government independent and has "nothing to do with Fatah or Hamas. What Netanyahu is saying are excuses to avoid sitting at the negotiating table," he said.

Obama's call Thursday for an approximate return to the 1967 borders, which made official a long-held but rarely stated U.S. position, has increased tension between the two longstanding allies at a moment of turbulent change in the Arab world.

Israel seized the West Bank, Gaza, Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula during the 1967 war. The Sinai has since been returned to Egypt. Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981, a move not recognized by the international community and condemned by Syria, which still claims the land.

Hamas now controls Gaza, while the more moderate Palestinian group Fatah administers the West Bank, site of a growing number of Israeli settlements. Ultimately, the Palestinians are aiming to unite Gaza and the West Bank under the authority of a new state.

The Israeli government has repeatedly said, among other things, that peace talks with the Palestinians cannot seriously proceed without firmer security guarantees and a clear recognition of the Jewish state's right to exist.

Obama said Thursday that the borders of Israel and a Palestinian state "should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states."

His position largely agreed with the Palestinian negotiating stance on border issues in the staggering peace process, now stalled by disputes over Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the role of Hamas in the Palestinian leadership.

At the same time, Obama reiterated unwavering U.S. support for Israel's security Thursday, and he endorsed certain negotiating positions of Netanyahu's government, including an incremental handover of security responsibilities by Israel when conditions on the ground allow it.

He also said a future Palestinian state would have to remain "nonmilitarized."

Obama sought to undercut momentum for a declaration of Palestinian statehood at the United Nations in September, warning that "symbolic actions to isolate Israel (at the U.N.) won't create an independent state."

The president said he recognizes that two "wrenching and emotional issues" remain unresolved: the future status of Jerusalem, which is claimed by both sides, and the fate of Palestinian refugees who claim Israel as their homeland.

Netanyahu, considered hawkish on security matters, reacted coolly to the president's speech. He has argued that the 1967 borders are now "indefensible" for Israel, and noted that major population centers are located beyond those lines.

Hamas also rejected the terms outlined in the speech, calling them "empty of concrete significance."

Israel, meanwhile, announced the approval Thursday of new projects to build 1,500 housing units in Har Homa and Pisgat Zeev, which are outside the 1967 borders. The projects had previously received initial approval, said Roye Lackmanovich, an Interior Ministry spokesman.

Israeli officials said before Friday's meeting that Netanyahu intended to use the occasion not only to stress his opposition to a restoration of the 1967 lines, but also to seek specifics on the type of security guarantees envisioned by the president, including the assertion that a Palestinian state would remain nonmilitarized.

Netanyahu also wanted Obama to clarify his stance on both Hamas and the so-called "right of return" for Palestinian families who left Israel after the state's founding in 1948. Israel has repeatedly warned that it cannot allow those families to return without sacrificing its identity as a Jewish state.

Netanyahu made clear after Friday's meeting that the families of the 1948 refugees cannot settle within Israel's borders.

While Netanyahu and other conservative members of the Israeli government have been critical of Obama in the wake of Thursday's speech, the president also has defenders within the Knesset, Israel's parliament.

Tzipi Livni, an opposition leader and former foreign minister, applauded Obama's call for a two-state solution.

"An American president that supports a two-state solution represents the Israeli interest and is not anti-Israeli," Livni said. "President Obama's call to start negotiations represents Israel's interests."

Also, the group known as the Middle East Quartet -- which includes the United Nations, Russia, the European Union and the United States -- issued a statement Friday offering its "strong support" for Obama's "vision of Israeli-Palestinian peace."

The White House has been heavily focused on Middle East issues this week. Obama met with Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday and will address the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, an influential pro-Israel lobbying group, on Sunday.

CNN's Elise Labott, Kevin Flower and Tom Cohen contributed to this report.

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Obama's new team blurs lines between defense, intelligence

WASHINGTON — President Obama welcomed a new team of warriors, spies and diplomats Thursday to the "urgent challenges" of defending America's interests on multiple fronts overseas despite dwindling resources and a crushing national debt.

President Obama announces the new members of his national security team on Thursday. From left: Leon Panetta as secretary of Defense, Gen. David Petraeus as CIA director, Lt. Gen. John Allen as commander for U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Ryan Crocker as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan.

By Alex Wong, Getty Images

President Obama announces the new members of his national security team on Thursday. From left: Leon Panetta as secretary of Defense, Gen. David Petraeus as CIA director, Lt. Gen. John Allen as commander for U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Ryan Crocker as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan.

The appearance of current and future Pentagon, CIA and Afghanistan war leaders ? pending Senate confirmations ? was emblematic of the increasingly blurred lines between Obama's defense and intelligence communities.

There was retiring Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a former CIA director, laughing alongside CIA Director Leon Panetta, Obama's choice to replace Gates on July 1. Beside them stood Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander of allied forces in Afghanistan, Obama's choice for CIA director.

The revolving doors of national security extended to Marine Lt. Gen. John Allen, like Petraeus a veteran of Iraq, now likely to succeed him in Afghanistan, and Ryan Crocker, former ambassador to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, who the president wants for a second tour in Kabul.

The team will bring "counsel, continuity and unity of effort," Obama said, noting, "We are a nation still at war." Even with trillion-dollar budget deficits and a looming battle over controlling the $14.3 trillion national debt, he said, "We cannot compromise our ability to defend our nation or our interests around the world."

Obama's selections, contemplated at the White House for months, won bipartisan support amid indications the Democratic-controlled Senate will confirm all four nominees. "The president is to be commended for choosing competence and continuity," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

The announcement came amid turmoil abroad and the need for austerity at home. Panetta, a former White House chief of staff and budget director, warned of "hard choices" and the need to be "disciplined in applying our limited resources." Petraeus, who turned around the Iraq war in 2007, expressed only "guarded optimism about the trajectory of the mission" in Afghanistan.

Obama noted that Panetta, 72, began his four decades of public service as an Army intelligence officer, and that Petraeus, 58, has been "a lifelong consumer of intelligence."

The appointments "probably speak well for the continued fusion of effort between the intelligence community and the military to achieve our objectives in the war on terror," said Stephen Hadley, former White House national security adviser to George W. Bush. "People now see over the last 10 years how closely related on the battlefield intelligence and the military has become."

Jane Harman, director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and, like Panetta, a former Democratic congresswoman from California, noted the two bureaucracies have been at odds in the past. Former Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld sought to boost the Pentagon's intelligence capabilities so it wouldn't be so dependent on the CIA.

"There's traditionally been tension between intelligence and defense. They haven't liked each other," Harman said. "The collaboration between Panetta and Petraeus really fits the needs right now."

Given the current upheaval in the Middle East, Harman said, the new team's job is nothing short of "developing a new American narrative for what our role is in the world."

Former Republican senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a Vietnam veteran once considered to be a possible Pentagon chief himself, said intelligence is now "thread throughout the fabric of all policy-making."

Soldiers and Marines in Afghanistan and Iraq, he said, must be "part-time warriors, part-time psychologists, part-time mayors" and much more.

Gates, 67, lauded by Democrats and Republicans for his 4? years of service in the Bush and Obama administrations, choked up in talking about the sacrifices of today's troops, including those who return wounded from the battlefield.

"I've done my best to care for them as though they were my own sons and daughters," he said, "and I will miss them deeply."

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