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Israeli PM Netanyahu's Speech at the UNGA Debate on Recognizing Palestine as a Non-Member Observer State (2011)

Location
New York, NY
Date
2011-09-23
People
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel: Speaker
A speech given by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the United Nations General Assembly on 23 September 2011. Netanyahu claimed that Israeli withdrawals and attempts at negotiation, such as the 2000 withdrawal from Lebanon, the Camp David Summit and the Disengagement Plan, were met with violence, and denounced militant Islam. He stressed that Israel's security needs require a permanent Israeli military presence in the West Bank. Netanyahu also reiterated his willingness to accept a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside Israel, as expressed in his 2009 Bar-Ilan Speech, but demanded a Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. Finally, he called for negotiations to resume without preconditions.