BEIJING, May 23 (Saba) -- President Barack Obama has promised the US will help maintain Israel's qualitative military edge.

Obama called the commitment to Israel's security "ironclad", as he addressed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the largest pro-Israel lobby in the US. He made the speech after his vision of Israeli-Palestinian peace based on territory and security drew fire.

President Barack Obama said, "I firmly believe and I repeated it on Thursday, that peace cannot be imposed on the parties to the conflict. No vote at the United Nations will ever create an independent Palestinian state. And the United States will stand up against efforts to single Israel out at the UN or in any international forum. Because Israel's legitimacy is not a matter for debate. That is my commitment. That is my pledge to all of you."

The US president also defended his Thursday speech on Middle East policy. He again called for a future Palestinian state based on the1967 borders with agreed land swaps. Obama said Palestinians must have the right to govern themselves in a "sovereign and contiguous state". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told Obama flatly that Israel cannot go back to the 1967 lines, saying they are "indefensible."


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