Beck Falsely Claims Obama Gave Israel 30-Day “Ultimatum” To Accept 1967 Borders
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on June 14th, 2011 4:44 am by HL
Beck Falsely Claims Obama Gave Israel 30-Day “Ultimatum” To Accept 1967 Borders
Glenn Beck falsely claimed that in an “ultimatum,” “the Obama administration gave Israel 30 days to comply with the 1967 border rules.” In fact, the article Beck cited to back up his claim stated that the administration made a “request” of Israel to accept Obama’s proposal as a basis for negotiations as a way to head off Palestinian plans to unilaterally declare an independent state.
Beck Claims “Israel Ultimatum” Gives It “30 Days To Comply With The 1967 Border Rules”
Beck: “[T]he Obama Administration Gave Israel 30 Days To Comply With The 1967 Border Rules.” From the June 13 edition of Beck’s Fox News show:
BECK: And then, the Israel ultimatum. This one happens by September. This weekend, the Obama administration gave Israel 30 days to comply with the 1967 border rules. According to the National Security Council, quote, “We have a month to see if we can work something out with the Israelis and Palestinians as accepting these principles as a basis for negotiations.” Well, now, there’s a reasonable timeline on solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a conflict that has gone on for decades and centuries. Guys, you got 30 days. Why didn’t I think of that earlier? This presidency thing is a breeze for Barack Obama. [Fox News, Glenn Beck, 6/13/11]
Graphic Cited Wash. Times Article. From the June 13 edition of Beck’s Fox News show:
[Fox News, Glenn Beck, 6/13/11]
In Fact, Goal Of 30-Day Timeline Is To Head Off Unilateral Declaration Of Palestinian Statehood, Which U.S. Does Not Support
Wash. Times Article Beck Cited Does Not Reference “Ultimatum,” Only A “Request” That Israel “Endorse The President’s Peace Principles.” From a June 12 Washington Times article from which Beck took his quote of Steven Simon, National Security Council senior director for the Middle East and North Africa:
A senior administration official Friday told American Jewish leaders that the request for Israel to endorse the president’s peace principles was part of an effort to head off Palestinian plans to declare an independent state at the United Nations in September.
Steven Simon, the new White House National Security Council senior director for the Middle East and North Africa, said he was looking to get both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government to adopt Mr. Obama’s “principles as a basis for negotiation,” according to a recording of the call played for The Washington Times.
Mr. Obama said last month, “the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps.” But the president has also rejected a set of U.S.-Israel understandings made during the Bush administration that tacitly accepted construction in some Jerusalem suburbs over the 1967 line.
[…]
Mr. Simon, who served as the Clinton White House’s top counterterrorism official, said the United States had about a month to head off the Palestinian plan to declare a state during the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting set for September.
“We have a month to see if we can work something out with the Israelis and Palestinians as accepting these principles as a basis for negotiations,” he said. “If that happens we are somewhat confident that the Palestinians will drop what they intend to do in the U.N.”
Mr. Simon said Palestinians in general were supportive of the idea.
“We are working with the Israeli government to see whether they can accept these principles as a basis for negotiations,” he said.
Nonetheless, Mr. Simon said the United States would oppose a Palestinian unilateral declaration at the United Nations, regardless of whether Israel adopted the Obama principles. He also said that the Palestinian leadership was divided on whether to proceed with the unilateral declaration in September. [The Washington Times, 6/12/11]
