In his speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, US President Barack Obama regretted that too many Israelis were ready to abandon a bid for peace in the region and said that this was something ‘’worthy of reflection within Israel.’’
‘’The violence engulfing the region today has made too many Israelis ready to abandon the hard work of peace. And that’s something worthy of reflection within Israel,’’ he said in his address that covered many of the world’s problems.
The phrase ‘’that’s something worthy of reflection within Israel" was reportedly added to his prepared remarks made available to journalists.
‘’We recognize as well that leadership will be necessary to address the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. As bleak as the landscape appears, America will not give up on the pursuit of peace. Understand, the situation in Iraq and Syria and Libya should cure anybody of the illusion that the Arab-Israeli conflict is the main source of problems in the region. For far too long, that’s been used as an excuse to distract people from problems at home,’’ Obama said.
He added: ‘’The status quo in the West Bank and Gaza is not sustainable. We cannot afford to turn away from this effort — not when rockets are fired at innocent Israelis, or the lives of so many Palestinian children are taken from us in Gaza. So long as I am President, we will stand up for the principle that Israelis, Palestinians, the region and the world will be more just and more safe with two states living side by side, in peace and security.’’
The American president will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on October 1 at the White House in Washington for the first time since seven months.
The two leaders are likely to discuss the ongoing negotiations between the world powers (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear programme. Other agenda topics are due to cover the threat of ISIS and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the aftermath of Operation Protective Edge againsdt Hamas in Gaza.
Netanyahu will travel to New York on Sunday after the Jewish New Year in order to address the UN General Assembly, which opened earlier this week. It is reported that on the side lines of the gathering, Netanyahu will meet with India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a sign of growing Israel-India relations.
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas will also address the UN General Assembly.