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Prime Minister Netanyahu's recent policy speech treaded a fine line between trying to satisfy the Obama Administration's strictures, Netanyahu's right-wing coalition members, and the leftwing opposition. Though the speech has engendered much criticism, it generally was successful in buying time for Israel and putting the Palestinians on the defensive. Below are quotes from the latter part of the prime minister's speech, with my comments.

Quote: "The Palestinians are not showing us that they want to end the conflict. ... A great many people are telling us that withdrawal is the key to peace with the Palestinians. But the fact is that all our withdrawals were met by huge waves of suicide bombers. ... We withdrew from the Gaza Strip to the last centimeter, we uprooted dozens of settlements and turned thousands of Israelis out of their homes. In exchange, what we received were missiles raining down on our cities, our towns and our children. The argument that withdrawal would bring peace closer did not stand up to the test of reality. ... With Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north, they keep on saying that they want to 'liberate' Ashkelon in the south and Haifa and Tiberias."

By citing recent history, Netanyahu deftly illustrated the futility of the land for peace formula.

Quote: "Even the moderates among the Palestinians are not ready to say the simplest things: The State of Israel is the national homeland of the Jewish People and will remain so. ... We need the Palestinian leadership to rise and say, simply 'We have had enough of this conflict. We recognize the right of the Jewish People to a state of its own in this Land. We will live side by side in true peace.' I am looking forward to this moment. ... The fundamental condition for ending the conflict is the public, binding and sincere Palestinian recognition of Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish People."

Netanyahu emphasized the indispensable fact of Israel as the Jewish state - the birthplace of the Jewish people - a fact which the Palestinians must accept or there will never be a peace agreement.

Quote: "The right of the Jewish People to a state in the Land of Israel does not arise from the series of disasters that befell the Jewish People over 2,000 years - persecutions, expulsions, pogroms, blood libels, murders, which reached its climax in the Holocaust, an unprecedented tragedy in the history of nations. There are those who say that without the Holocaust the State would not have been established, but I say that if the State of Israel had been established in time, the Holocaust would not have taken place."

In contrast to President Obama's speech in Cairo, which identified the Holocaust as the genesis of modern Israel, Netanyahu puts the cart before the horse, citing the need of a Jewish state for the protection of Jews worldwide.

Quote: "We need a clear agreement to solve the Palestinian refugee problem outside of the borders of the State of Israel. For it is clear to all that the demand to settle the Palestinian refugees inside of Israel, contradicts the continued existence of the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish People. We must solve the problem of the Arab refugees. And I believe that it is possible to solve it. Because we have proven that we ourselves solved a similar problem. Tiny Israel took in the hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees from Arab countries who were uprooted from their homes. Therefore, justice and logic dictates that the problem of the Palestinian refugees must be solved outside the borders of the State of Israel. There is broad national agreement on this."

In a short, pointed statement, Netanyahu totally discredited any Palestinian return of refugees to Israel through history, justice and logic.

Quote: "Any area in Palestinian hands has to be demilitarized, with solid security measures. Without this condition, there is a real fear that there will be an armed Palestinian state which will become a terrorist base against Israel, as happened in Gaza. ... And, to ensure peace we don't want them to bring in missiles or rockets or have an army, or control of airspace, or make treaties with countries like Iran, or [groups like] Hizbullah. There is broad agreement on this in Israel. We cannot be expected to agree to a Palestinian state without ensuring that it is demilitarized. This is crucial to the existence of Israel. We must provide for our security needs. ... The Palestinians cannot make military treaties. ... If we get a guarantee of demilitarization, and if the Palestinians recognize Israel as the Jewish state, we are ready to agree to a real peace agreement, a demilitarized Palestinian state side by side with the Jewish state."

Finally stating the slogan "Palestinian state side by side with the Jewish state," Netanyahu explicitly announced the requirements for Israel's approval of a Palestinian state.

Quote: "Whenever we discuss a permanent arrangement, Israel needs defensible borders with Jerusalem remaining the united capital of Israel. The territorial issues will be discussed in a permanent agreement. Till then we have no intention to build new settlements or set aside land for new settlements. But there is a need to have people live normal lives and let mothers and fathers raise their children like everyone in the world. The settlers are not enemies of peace. They are our brothers and sisters."

Netanyahu put off discussions about territory and gave his intention not to build new settlements, while he retained the right for Israelis living in settlements to add additional space to their homes or build new homes within settlement boundaries. Jerusalem's place as Israel's united capital was emphasized.

Quote: "If the Palestinians truly want peace, and educate their children for peace and stop incitement, we for our part will make every effort, allow them freedom of movement and accessibility, making their lives easier and this will help bring peace.

But above all, they must decide: the Palestinians must decide between path of peace and path of Hamas. They must overcome Hamas. Israel will not sit down at conference table with terrorists who seek to destroy it."

Netanyahu signaled the need for reciprocity: an end to Palestinian incitement and violence would result in more freedom for the Palestinians and serious peace negotiations.

Admittedly, some Israelis from both Left and Right wings are unhappy with his speech. For me, the idea of a demilitarized state is not credible, because it can't be enforced. (Remember Germany between the two world wars.) But as premier of a tiny country, which relies on America to be its staunchest ally, Netanyahu had a tough job trying to satisfy both a new "even-handed" American president and the Israeli governing coalition, many of whose members hold a dim view of a possible Palestinian state.

Indeed, Netanyahu didn't really break any new ground in his speech. But he did satisfy President Obama's minimum requirement to mention a possible Palestinian state while hopefully enlightening the president and others to Israel's ancient ties to the Middle East. If the Palestinians get one thing out of Netanyahu's speech, it may be that while Obama is leaning over backwards to recognize their claim, Israel has a government that believes in Israel's destiny and will resist selling it short (at least I hope so). In the meantime, I still remain opposed to the idea of a second Palestinian state - Jordan is the first - and think that fruitful negotiations towards peace must wait until the Arabs accept our Jewish state.

Stephen Kramer resided and worked in the Atlantic City area until 1991, when he moved to Israel with his wife, Michal Langweiler, and two sons. He can be reached at Sjk1@jhu.edu.