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Binyamin Netanyahu tells US congress that Israel will compromise for peace but will not return to 1967 borders.

Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has addressed the US congress, stressing the close ties between his country and the US and outlining his expectations for Middle East peace.

In his speech on Tuesday, the Israeli leader stressed his country's position as a democratic "friend of America" in the region, but largely ruled out movement on the issues that are important to Palestinians.

"Israel is not what is wrong with the Middle East," Netanyahu told US lawmakers. "Israel is what is right about the Middle East."

He characterised the problems with the peace process in the Middle East as a Palestinian refusal to accept Israel.

"The Palestinians have been unwilling to accept the Palestinian state if it meant accepting a Jewish state alongside it," Netanyahu said.

His speech had been keenly anticipated because in an earlier address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) he had vowed to use it to speak "the unvarnished truth" about what was necessary for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Netanyahu and the US Israeli lobby have been rattled by the explicit support by Barack Obama, the US pr... >>>