Obama calls for withdrawal of Israel to ‘67 borders

I had earlier read and heard discussed the first bolded passage from Obama’s UN General Assembly speech, but not the second:

… But more progress is needed. We continue to call on Palestinians to end incitement against Israel, and we continue to emphasize that America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements…. The goal is clear: two states living side by side in peace and security—a Jewish State of Israel, with true security for all Israelis; and a viable, independent Palestinian state with contiguous territory that ends the occupation that began in 1967, and realizes the potential of the Palestinian people.

The phrase, “continued Israeli settlements,” in “America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements,” is inclusive language. It means that the U.S. denies the legitimacy of all Israeli settlements and towns constructed in the West Bank since the 1970s. If there’s any doubt about Obama’s meaning, the second bolded passage removes it. The phrase, “ends the occupation,” in “[an] independent Palestinian state … that ends the occupation that began in 1967,” is also inclusive language that unambiguously signifies the withdrawal of Israel from all the lands it occupied during the 1967 war.

Of course, UN Resolution 242, which has governed this issue for the last four decades, says that Israel shall withdraw “from territories,” meaning from some territories, not necessarily from all territories. This has always been the accepted understanding of that phrase, except among outright enemies of Israel. Obama has adopted the position of Israel’s enemies.

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Bjorn writes:

Was there ever a “contiguous territory” entity or is this something new? I think this would also split Israel, no?

LA replies:

Yes. If the Palistinian entity is contiguous, then the Israeli entity ceases to be contiguous. Obama is demanding the splitting of Israel into two sections separated by Palestinian sovereign territory, so that the Israelis would have to pass through Palestinian checkpoints to get from one part of Israel to another.

It’s not clear yet whether he will allow the Israelis to maintain control over their own airspace.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at September 26, 2009 05:47 PM | Send