Politics in the Americas

Here is what the President of the U.S. had to say to the world today about the Israeli-Palestinian issue: "Now, I know particularly this week that for many in this hall there is one issue that stands as a test for these principles and a test for American foreign policy and as a conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. One year ago, I stood at this podium and called for an independent Palistine. I believed then and I believe now that the Palestinian people deserve a state of their own, but what I also said is that a genuine peace can only be realized between the Isrealis and Palestinians themselves. One year later despite extensive efforts by America and others the parties have not bridged their differences. Faced with this stalemate, I put forward a new basis for negotiations in May of this year. That basis is clear. It's well known to all of us here. Isrealis must know that any agreement provides assurances for their security. Palestinians deserve to know the territorial basis of their state. Now I know that many are frustrated by the lack of progress. I assure you, so am I. But the question isn't the goal that we seek. The question is how do we reach that goal. And I'm convinced that there is no shortcut to the end of a conflict that has endured for decades. Peace is hard work. Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the United Nations. If it were that easy it would've been accomplished by now. Ultimately it is the Isrealis and Palestinians who must live side by side. Ultimately it's the Israelis and Palestinians, not us, who must reach agreement on the issues that divide them: on borders, and on security, on refugees, and Jerusalem. Ultimately peace depends upon compromise among people who must live together long after our speeches are over, long after our votes have been tallied. That's the lesson Northern Ireland, where ancient antagonists bridged their differences. That's the lesson of Sudan where negotiated settlement lead to an independent state. And that is and will be the path to a Palestinian state: negotiations between the parties. We seek a future where Palestinians live in a sovereign state of their own with no limit to what they can achieve. There's no question that Palestinians have seen that vision delayed for too long. It is precisely because we believe so strongly in the aspirations of the Palestinian people that America has invested so much time and so much effort in the building of a Palestinian state and the negotiations that can deliver a Palestinian state. But understand this as well: America's commitment to Israeli security is unshakable. Our friendship with Israel is deep and enduring. And so we believe that any lasting peace must acknowledge the very real security concerns that Isreal faces every single day. Let us be honest with ourselves. Isreal is surrounded by neighbors that have waged repeated wars against it. Israel citizens have been killed by rockets fired at their houses and suicide bombs on their buses. Israel's children come of age knowing that throughout the region other children are taught to hate them. Israel, a small country of less than eight million people, look out at a world where leaders of much larger nations threaten to wipe it off the map. The Jewish people carry the burden of centuries of exile and persecution and fresh memories of knowing that six million people were killed simply because of who they are. Those are facts. They can not be denied. The Jewish people have forged a successful state in their historic homeland. Isreal deserves recognition. It deserves normal relations with its neighbors. And friends of the Palestinians do them no favors by ignoring this truth just as friends of Isreal must recognize the need to pursue a two-state solution with a secure Israel next to an independent Palestine. That is the truth. Each side has legitimate aspirations and that's part of what makes peace so hard and the deadlock will only be broken when each side learns to stand in the other's shoes. Each side can see the world through the other's eyes. That's what we should be encouraging. That's what we should be promoting. This body--founded as it was out of the ashes of war and genocide, dedicated as it is to the dignity of every single person, must recognize the reality that is lived by both the Plalestinians and the Isrealis. The measure of our actions must always be whether they advance the right of Isreali and Palestinian children to live lives of peace and security and dignity and opportunity. And we will only succeed in that effort if we can encourage the parties to sit down, to listen to each other, and to understand each others' hopes and each others' fears. That is the project to which America is committed. There are no shortcuts and that is what the United Nations should be focused on in the weeks and months to come. "

Full transcription can be found at the UN General Assembly.