Obama's Prepared Remarks on Palestine: 'Peace Depends Upon Compromise'

President Obama's prepared remarks opposing the unilateral creation of a Palestinian state excerpted from his address this morning before United Nations General Assembly:
 

"Now I know that for many in this hall, one issue stands as a test for these principles – and for American foreign policy: the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians.
 
"One year ago, I stood at this podium and called for an independent Palestine. I believed then – and I believe now – that the Palestinian people deserve a state of their own. But what I also said is that genuine peace can only be realized between Israelis 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. That basis is clear, and well known to all of us here. Israelis must know that any agreement provides assurances for their security. Palestinians deserve to know the territorial basis of their state.
 
"I know that many are frustrated by the lack of progress. So am I. But the question isn’t the goal we seek – the question is how to reach it. And I am convinced that there is no short cut to the end of a conflict that has endured for decades. Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the UN – if it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now. Ultimately, it is Israelis and Palestinians who must live side by side. Ultimately, it is Israelis and Palestinians – not us – who must reach agreement on the issues that divide them: on borders and security; on refugees and Jerusalem.
 
"Peace depends upon compromise among peoples who must live together long after our speeches are over, and our votes have been counted. That is the lesson of Northern Ireland, where ancient antagonists bridged their differences. That is the lesson of Sudan, where a negotiated settlement led to an independent state. And that is the path to a Palestinian state. 
 
"We seek a future where Palestinians live in a sovereign state of their own, with no limit to what they can achieve. There is no question that the Palestinians have seen that vision delayed for too long. And it is precisely because we believe so strongly in the aspirations of the Palestinian people that America has invested so much time and effort in the building of a Palestinian state, and the negotiations that can achieve one.
 
"America’s commitment to Israel’s security is unshakeable, and our friendship with Israel is deep and enduring. And so we believe that any lasting peace must acknowledge the very real security concerns that Israel faces every single day. Let’s be honest: Israel is surrounded by neighbors that have waged repeated wars against it. Israel’s 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, looks out at a world where leaders of much larger nations threaten to wipe it off of the map. The Jewish people carry the burden of centuries of exile, persecution, and the fresh memory of knowing that six million people were killed simply because of who they were.
 
"These facts cannot be denied. The Jewish people have forged a successful state in their historic homeland. Israel 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 Israel must recognize the need to pursue a two state solution with a secure Israel next to an independent Palestine.
 
"That truth – that each side has legitimate aspirations – is what makes peace so hard. And the deadlock will only be broken when each side learns to stand in each other’s shoes. That’s what we should be encouraging. This body – founded, as it was, out of the ashes of war and genocide; dedicated, as it is, to the dignity of every person – must recognize the reality that is lived by both the Palestinians and the Israelis.  The measure of our actions must always be whether they advance the right of Israeli and Palestinian children to live in peace and security, with dignity and opportunity. We will only succeed in that effort if we can encourage the parties to sit down together, to listen to each other, and to understand each other’s hopes and fears. That is the project to which America is committed. And that is what the United Nations should be focused on in the weeks and months to come.
 
"Now, even as we confront these challenges of conflict and revolution, we must also recognize once more that peace is not just the absence of war. True peace depends upon creating the opportunity that makes life worth living. And to do that, we must confront the common enemies of human beings: nuclear weapons and poverty; ignorance and disease. These forces corrode the possibility of lasting peace, and together we are called upon to confront them."

Netanyahu Open to Upping Palestinian Status; Ambassador Back in Jordan

As anti-Israeli sentiment cools off in Jordan, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu is reportedly considering an upgrade in Palestinian recognition if the Palestinian Authority backs off a plan to seek statehood at the United Nations.

Netanyahu expressed his willingness to accept a plan that would upgrade Palestinian status during talks the past few days with the European Union's foreign policy director Catherine Ashton, according to a report today in Haaretz.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has a been discussing a new comprehensive roadmap to negotiations and statehood with European and American officials that would avoid a unilateral declaration of statehood at the UN, according to the London based Arabic daily Al Hayat.

The plan calls for the PA and Israel to resume negotiations for a minimum of six months, followed by a halt to hostilities and the creation of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Netanyahu will address the UN General Assembly next Friday, the same day the Palestinians will make their pitch for statehood. 

In a sign of a return towards normalcy, Israel's Ambassador Daniel Nevo returned to Amman today a day after a so-called million-man march fizzled into a protest of several hundred anti-Israeli demonstrators.

All but one member of the diplomatic staff was evacuated Wednesday from the Israeli embassy in Amman amid fears of a violent protest similar to the mob over the weekend that ransacked the Israeli mission in Cairo.

Jordanian police protected the Isreali embassy as the protesters app arched, demanding that Jordan scrap its historic peace treaty with Israel. 

Agitators sought to take their cue from the protesters in Cairo, using the fiery remarks by Major Gen. Uzi Dayan to provoke demonstrations in Jordan. Dayan called for Jordan to invade and take over the West Bank and Gaza to keep the Palestinians from declaring statehood at the UN.

Dayan's idea was met with disdain from the government in Amman.