Israeli Ambassador Outlines Priorities in Peace Talks
Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. outlined for Jewish leaders his country’s list of priorities in framing peace talks with the Palestinians.
Ambassador Michael Oren, speaking Thursday in a conference call, said Israel was ready to accept President Obama’s outline on May 19 of renewed talks, based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed land swaps, as long as it was framed by what he called the “terms of reference”: the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state; no return of Palestinian refugees; and a long-term military presence for Israel along the Jordan-West Bank border. Also, that an agreement would end all claims.
He offered the terms after describing the recent intensive shuttle diplomacy aimed at restarting direct talks, with negotiators and U.S. facilitators traveling back and forth in recent weeks between Washington, Jerusalem and Ramallah.
For more, go to www.jta.org
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism so that we can be prepared for whatever news 2025 brings.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
