(Ynet).Netanyahu met with several prominent Likud MKs on Wednesday evening, ahead of his planned address at Bar Ilan University this coming Sunday.
"The country's future faces enormous challenges from several directions, and we must act to ensure Israel's existence as a Jewish nation for generations upon generations to come. This is not only my responsibility but all of ours," Netanyahu told the assembled Likud members, adding that Israel was under threat and therefore would have to "put things in balance."
At the meeting were MKs Tzipi Hotovely, Danny Danon, Ofir Akonis and Miri Regev. The MKs told Netanyahu that they object to the use of the term 'two states for two peoples' and the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Although they told the prime minister that they supported him, they also said that the Likud was elected on a different platform that Kadima's. The MKs told Netanyahu that President Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Ehud Barak both speak in terms of two states. The prime minister rejected the implication that either spoke for him.
"So far we've only given and gotten nothing in return," the MKs said, citing the various concessions Israel has made to the Palestinian Authority. Netanyahu responded, telling the MKs that the situation was complex and asking them – "And what's your alternative?"
MK Danon, on his part, said he was in favor of the Palestinian Authority having autonomy "but not a state."
