Netanyahu defends speech to party hardliners
 
RONI SOFER
JERUSALEM — After having uttered the least favourite pair of words in the right-wing hemisphere, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu braced himself for an onslaught of domestic criticism on Monday as he faced his own party.¬†But the reception he got turned out to be more lukewarm than cold.
“There are new and continuous international circumstances that compelled me, in my role as prime minister, to make a decision,” Netanyahu told the assembled Likud ministers and MKs.¬†”This is the policy that I have chosen,” Netanyahu said, adding that the establishment of a Palestinian state is not a question for the entire world.
“The demand for mutual recognition and demilitarisation is crucial because we know what kind of place we live in,” the prime minister continued.¬†He said that it was a fundamental demand backed by the Israeli public.¬†Netanyahu asked for unity within the party ranks.¬†
“The American response was positive. It would be misleading to say that the road is paved, but our situation is better today than before,” he said.¬†Prior to the meeting MK Tzipi Hotovely, fast becoming the symbol of right-leaning opposition to Netanyahu within Likud, praised the prime minister for talking of the historic right to the land of Israel.¬†She said however that hearing him use the term ‘Palestinian state’ was “a difficult moment” for her.