STEINITZ: “I think Prime Minister Netanyahu was quite clear. He didn’t say that we are not seeking a peace, or a peaceful solution with our Palestinian neighbors. He said something different: that we cannot ignore, though we want to have peace, we cannot ignore the realities on the ground. In the wider Middle East, and also what happened to us in Gaza, after the Israeli withdrawal, and Abu Mazen (ed: PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas) unilaterally approached to the UN and the ICC which was also condemned by the Americans. So the fact is, unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that we have a reliable partner for peace and security, and this is a main obstacle.”
BLITZER: “Well, let me press you on that, Minister, is it still the goal, though — the prime minister said the other day on his watch there would not be a Palestinian state but today he seems to be totally walking back from that line. In some interviews he is saying, ‘I don’t want a one-state solution, I want a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution.’ So the policy of your government, the Likud-led government — I want to be precise here — will it continue to be that the goal should be two states, Israel and Palestine.”
STEINITZ: “Yeah, I think that was the goal and we didn’t change our policy. What has been changed, unfortunately, is the realities on the ground, in Gaza, in the West Bank and in the wider Middle East. So really, the burden of proof is on the Palestinian shoulders. They have to give us assurances and positive experience that they can provide peace and security to the State of Israel and unfortunately this is not happening – or this is not happening yet. Of course Israel is eager to have peace in the future; but Israel is not going to risk its security and its very existence on the other hand.”
Even if it makes President Barack Obama very, very mad?