US President Barack Obama held his first summit with his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres on Tuesday, as the US urged Israel to accept a two-state solution amid a new US push for Middle East peace.
Obama, who has made the Middle East one of the top priorities of his administration, has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to Washington for talks in the coming weeks.
And in some of the most forceful language yet by the new administration, Vice President Joe Biden laid out on Tuesday what Washington expected from its partners in the search for an elusive peace deal.
“Israel’s security is non-negotiable. Period,” Biden told the annual conference of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, which calls itself the most influential foreign policy lobby in Washington.
“But Israel has to work toward a two-state solution,” Biden told the 6,500 delegates.
“You’re not going to like my saying this but [do] not build more settlements, dismantle existing outposts and allow Palestinians freedom of movement,” Biden told the audience, which nonetheless applauded him.
The US vice president also urged Arab states to begin moving toward ending Israel’s isolation.
“Now is the time for Arab states to make meaningful gestures to show the Israeli leadership and the people the promise of ending Israel’s isolation in the region is real and genuine,” Biden said.
Tuesday’s White House talks were the first summit between the close allies since Benjamin Netanyahu was elected Israel’s prime minister and Obama took over in January as US president.
Netanyahu has so far refused to publicly endorse the creation of a Palestinian state and has insisted on focusing efforts on strengthening the West Bank economy before engaging in negotiations on a final status agreement.
Peres said after the talks that Netanyahu had signed up to the commitments of the US-backed “road-map” when asked by reporters about the new Israeli administration’s failure to so far endorse a two-state solution.
“Mr Netanyahu said he will abide by the commitments of the previous government,” Peres said after the closed-door meeting.
“The previous government accepted the road map — in the road map you will find the attitude to the two state solution,” he said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source