Bibi's Popularity At Home Soars To 71%

By Jeremy Last - Thursday 18th June 2009


In his first two months in office the Israeli premier stubbornly avoided mentioning the words "Palestinian state".

But on Sunday he appeared to finally give in to pressure from the international community in general and the new American administration in particular.

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But on Sunday he appeared to finally give in to pressure from the international community in general and the new American administration in particular.

Setting out his principles, Netanyahu said: "If we receive... [a] guarantee regarding demilitarisation and Israel's security needs, and if the Palestinians recognise Israel as the State of the Jewish people, then we will be ready in a future peace agreement to reach a solution where a demilitarised Palestinian state exists alongside the Jewish state."

On Tuesday, two new polls were published which illustrated overwhelming public support for the speech. According to a New Wave survey in the Israel Hayom newspaper 61 percent backed the speech while the Dialog poll in Haaretz put the figure at 71 percent.

The New Wave poll showed that 20 percent of the respondents said their support for Netanyahu increased due to the speech, while the Dialog poll found a 16 percent increase in approval for Bibi, jumping from 28 percent to 44 percent.
The speech was accepted by all members of Netanyahu's cabinet, and even by all members of the parliamentary Likud party aside from a handful of dissidents. One of the few Likud MKs to criticise Netanyahu's proposal was Uzi Landau, who claimed there was no chance a demiliterised Palestinian state would remain that way for very long.

"We speak about a Palestinian state," Landau said. "The title is Palestinian, but the nature is going to be Iranian, and Hamas surely will have the upper hand."

In the address, Netanyahu said Israel would not build new settlements but was unable to guarantee a complete halt of building within settlements, something US President Barack Obama has been calling for for over a month.

Nevertheless, in reference to the acceptance of a two-state solution, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama "welcomes the important step forward in Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech."

"The president is committed to two states, a Jewish state of Israel and an independent Palestine, in the historic homeland of both peoples. He believes this solution can and must ensure both Israel's security and the fulfillment of the Palestinians' legitimate aspirations for a viable state, and he welcomes Prime Minister Netanyahu's endorsement of that goal," Gibbs said.
The reaction of the Arab world, however, was far less welcoming.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said Sunday that Netanyahu "failed to set the stage for negotiations," pointing to the settlement issue as the main point of contention.

"Netanyahu wants to put us in a situation where he looks like he offered something, and we said no," Erekat said. "Netanyahu's speech was very clear. He rejects the two-state solution."

And Lebanese leader Saad Hariri added: "Netanyahu's speech places the region once again in the whirlpool of escalation and outlines an Israeli road map for toppling settlement efforts and peace initiatives."

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