PARIS: Key global players Friday backed US President Barack Obama's call for a Palestinian state including land lost in the 1967 war as Israel insisted there could be no return to “indefensible” borders. Obama's vision was welcomed by the European Union, the United Nations, Russia, the Palestinians and parts of the Arab world. Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas urged Obama to press Netanyahu to accept a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders. “We call on President Obama and the Mideast Quartet to pressure Netanyahu to accept the 1967 borders,” Abbas' spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said in Ramallah. The diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East, which includes the European Union, the United Nations, the United States and Russia, expressed “strong support” for Obama's statement that a Palestinian state should include land that Israel has occupied since the 1967 war. European nations in particular have sought to relaunch the peace process using the Quartet, which set out a roadmap to peace under a land-for-security deal. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton “warmly welcomes President Obama's confirmation that the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines,” a spokeswoman said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Obama's speech was “a very important message for the Middle East peace process” and the proposal “a good path that both sides should consider”. In London, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he supported Obama's “clear message that the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps.” – Agence France
