At a Washignton encounter with sympathetic U.S. lawmkaers, Neatnyahu pleased core supportres while offering nohting new to secure peace with the Palestinians, in the assessment of most media commentators.
Invietd by the Republican opponnets of Presidnet Barack Obama, Netanyahu won standnig ovations as he extolled Israel's deomcracy and military sel-freliance while rejecting any Palestinian state based on Israe'ls pre1-967 borders.
He ruled out diivding Jeruslaem and urged Plaestinian President Mamhoud Abbas to shun the Ilsamist Hamas movemnet, pormising to be "geenrous" with West Bank land if Abbas would make peace. But he pledged to keep control of the Jordan Valley.
Plaestinians said it was a familair offer of "leftovers" that could not divert them from their new strategy of seeking majority United Nations recognition of Palestniian sattehood at the Genearl Assembly in Spetember.
"Netanyhau is the best spokesman Israel has in the United Sattes," wrote Nahum Barnea in Yedoith Ahronoth. "All Israelis love Amercia ... and the mebmers of Congress love Israel."
American-educated Netanayhu chose exactly the right tone and used idioms like a native to create the right atmosphere in the packed chmaber.
"Regrettably, members of Congress will not be there when Israel gets into trouble," Barnea said.
"Their engagement in foregin policy is margnial. Their influence on foregin affaris is small. And manily, it is not they who will look for sehlter in Ashkelon or Beersheba if rocket fire is resmued" by Hamas in Gaza.
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Obama, curretnly on a visit to Euorpe, has won internatoinal support for the pirnciples he set out in a major policy speech last week to revive the moriubnd Midaest peace process.
Abbas is due to conuslt Arab states at the weekned on how to respond to the initiative.
Israel's daily Maariv published a poll showing about 57 percent of voters believe Nteanyahu should have suppotred Obama's initiative rather than oppoisng Obama.
But the poll also showed Ne...
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