Israeli PM unlikely to cede to demands

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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Although Washington wants him to endorse the creation of a Palestinian state and stop all settlement activity, the hawkish premier is unlikely to cede to demands that could topple his largely right-wing coalition government, commentators said.

"I don't expect that Netanyahu will fully endorse the creation of a Palestinian state," a senior government official told Agence France-Presse.

U.S. President Barack Obama's administration has pledged to vigorously pursue peacemaking in the Middle East based on a two-state solution, the cornerstone of international efforts to end the decades-old conflict.

"It is more logical to think that (Netanyahu) will say that he is ready to go far with the Palestinians, all the while listing a long list of reservations," Israeli army radio said. Public radio said Netanyahu will instead reiterate his support for the 2003 international "roadmap" plan which foresees the creation of a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu told ministers at yesterday's weekly Cabinet meeting that his speech would be "clear," but Defense Minister Ehud Barak told fellow Labour Party ministers earlier that he expected Netanyahu's speech to be vague and advised them to lower expectations, ministers said, according to an account by The Associated Press. Barak warned that "we should lower our expectations," saying Netanyahu's speech would be "cautious and vague," according to Israeli army radio.

The liberal Haaretz daily quoted unnamed officials close to Netanyahu saying that the premier's speech would focus on arch-foe Iran in the wake of the election victory of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad . The speech is seen in Israel as a response Obama's address to the Muslim world on June 4 in which he reiterated Washington's "unbreakable" bond with Israel.