16/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - In a press release issued on Tuesday 16 June, European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering welcomed the fact that “Prime Minister Netanyahu views the implementation of the two-state solution as the road to be pursued in order to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”. While Benjamin Netanyahu said, last Sunday, he agreed to the creation of a Palestinian state, he nonetheless set several conditions and refused to freeze the settlement of the West bank. Stating that the Israeli Prime Minister's speech was a “first step on the right path”, Pöttering went on: “The government of Israel is expected to commit unequivocally to this objective”. This would imply “the immediate cessation of the on-going settlement policy, including around Jerusalem, the restoration of free movement and border crossings in the Palestinian Territories, as well as an agreement on the status of the city of Jerusalem”. (A.B./transl.rt)