Obama, Netanyahu admit to ‘differences’

US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have admitted to “differences” on the path to Middle-East peace, after they met in Washington.

The talks came after Obama said in a key speech that any future Palestinian state must be based on the borders that existed prior to the 1967 war.

A defiant Netanyahu said there may be some concessions, but stressed the 1967 lines were “indefensible”. He said that there could be no peace “based on illusions”.”[It] will crash eventually on the rocks of Middle East reality,” Netanyahu said.

After the talks, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas urged Obama to continue pressing Netanyahu on the 1967 borders plan, AFP news agency reported.

Obama said there were differences between the US and Israel on a future state for Palestinians, but that such disputes occurred “between friends”.

They are not a natural double-act. Netanyahu was much more comfortable with the “unconditional love” for Israel offered by President George W. Bush. He told Israel in 2004 that it would not have to pull back to the 1967 lines.

President Obama prefers ‘tough love’. As he put it, “precisely because of our friendship, it is important that we tell the truth: the status quo is unsustainable, and Israel too must act boldly to advance a lasting peace”.