A senior Israeli official today said that the ruling Likud Party will not accept a Palestinian state with the borders favoured by the Palestinians and the international community, a new hurdle to US Secretary of State John Kerry's effort to restart peace talks in his latest visit to the region.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moved to distance himself from the comments by his deputy defence minister, Danny Danon.
In a TV interview, Danon said "there is certainly no majority" in the Likud for establishing a Palestinian state based on Israel's borders before the 1967 Mideast war.
The Palestinians seek an independent state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, areas captured by Israel in 1967. The Palestinians say final borders between Israel and a future Palestine must be based on the 1967 lines.
Israeli hard-liners oppose a broad withdrawal from the West Bank on both security and religious grounds.
"A Palestinian state on the 1967 lines is something dangerous for Israel, and therefore I oppose that idea," Danon told Channel 2 TV. He said it was possible that the broader coalition government, which includes other hard-line parties, also opposes a return to the 1967 lines.
The international community, including the US, has endorsed the 1967 lines as the basis for border talks. While Netanyahu says he supports Palestinian independence, he has refused to commit to any borders, saying only that all issues of disagreement should be resolved in negotiations.
Talks have been stalled since late 2008. The Palestinians have refused to return to the negotiations until Israel ends construction in territory it wants for a future state.
Israel says that settlements, along with other core issues like security, should be resolved through talks and have frequently called for negotiations to resume immediately without preconditions.
Israel's chief negotiator with the Palestinians, Tzipi Livni, said today that she is working with the US to restart talks, despite those within the government that oppose it.
"It is true that within the Likud there are radical elements and within the government there are those that oppose an agreement," Livni told Israel Radio.
Livni said Danon's comments "look bad."
The top Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said Danon's remarks reflect Israel's policy. "I believe that a government that continues to tender settlements and rejects the two state solution will not go for peace," he said.
