Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an unusual move, immediately rejected United States President Barack Obama's call for peace negotiations between the Jewish state and the Palestinians based on the 1967 borders.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu expects to hear a reaffirmation from President Obama of U.S. commitments made to Israel in 2004, which were overwhelmingly supported by both Houses of Congress," read a statement released late Thursday, "Among other things, those commitments relate to Israel not having to withdraw to the 1967 line which are both indefensible and would leave major Israeli population centers in Judea and Samaria (in the West Bank) beyond those lines."
The 1967 line, or the Green Line, is used to separate Israel from the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, of which the Israeli army took control through the Six Day War in 1967.
The prime minister reiterated Israel's demands for a peace deal, including solving the Palestinian refugee problem outside the Israeli border, the Palestinians recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, and stationing the Israeli military along the Jordan River.
Obama gave a major speech earlier Thursday at the State Department on the events unfolding in the Middle East and north Africa and the U.S. policy in the region. As to the Israeli- Palestinian peace process, he called on the two sides to negotiate a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders with mutually agreed swaps.
Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Obama in the White House on Friday.