USA Africa Dialogue Series - Obama Is Firm On The 1967 Borders Issue With Israel

Sunday, May 22, 2011 9:19:00 AM EDT

Obama: 67 borders reflects longstanding US policy

Barack Obama, Benjamin Netanyahu? Photo: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says Israel will face growing isolation without a credible Middle East peace process.

The president told America's pro-Israel lobby that "we cannot afford to wait another decade, or another two decades, or another three decades, to achieve peace."

After a contentious couple of days, Obama said Sunday his endorsement of the Jewish state's 1967 boundaries as the basis for a Palestinian state reflected the urgent need for a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians.

He says his call for a future Palestine based on the 1967 borders with agreed land swaps was a public expression of what has long been acknowledged privately.

Obama said he brought the terms out in the open because delay will undermine Israel's security and peace prospects. He repeated his remarks from Thursday on Israeli-Palestinian borders and security verbatim.