Ros-Lehtinen Outlines Problems with President’s Call for Israel to Return to 1967 Lines

(WASHINGTON) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented today on several problems with the President’s statement yesterday that “The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps.” Statement by Ros-Lehtinen: 

“The biggest problem with the President’s borders proposal is that reducing Israel’s borders to the pre-1967 lines would endanger Israel. It would undermine Israel’s strategic depth, increasing its vulnerability to both military invasions and the sorts of rocket and missile attacks that Hamas carries out in Gaza. But there are other major problems.

“The President’s call is a stark change in longstanding U.S. foreign policy, contradicting pledges to Israel by multiple U.S. Presidents. This about-face sends the wrong message to U.S. allies about our willingness to stand by our commitments.

“By endorsing the pre-1967 lines, the President has granted Abu Mazen a major concession without receiving anything in return. AbuMazen, predictably, has responded by pocketing this gift and becoming even more intransigent, demanding Israel to concede on this issue as yet another precondition for the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table.

“Israel cannot be expected to concede on its borders without the assurance of its survival as a Jewish state. Yet, the President did not reaffirm the previous U.S. commitment that Palestinian refugees must not be resettled within the State of Israel, since that could mean the end of Israel’s existence as a Jewish state. This is particularly vital given Abu Mazen’s refusal to compromise on the issue of refugees. 

“True and lasting peace and security cannot be achieved when the U.S. is focused on pressuring Israel instead of dealing with the real obstacle to peace and security. That obstacle is the Palestinian leadership’s failure to negotiate, failure to unequivocally renounce and crack down on violent extremism, and failure to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish State. Doubling down on failed policies will not lead to the changes we need. It’s time for the Obama Administration to change course.”