PM Benjamin Netanyahu, “Israel ready to cede ‘ancestral land’ to achieve peace” in address to Congress

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Congress in a speech on Tuesday that Israel was willing to 'make painful compromises to achieve this historical peace. As the leader of Israel, it is my responsibility, he said according to Reuters.com.

Those painful compromises he was referring to was no other than giving up parts of the much contented territory of the West Bank appropriated by Israel in a war that occurred in 1967.

Now this is not easy for me. It's not easy, because I recognize that in a genuine peace we will be required to give up parts of the ancestral Jewish homeland, he said. However Prime Minister Netanyahu also hinted that other settlements would be annexed as part of Israel in future deals for the peace treaty.

This move by Israel announcing the willingness to cede such valued land in order to negotiate with Palestinians may be a stepping stone to achieve the much sought peace agreement.

However, one thing for certain that may pose as an obstacle to strike this peace deal is what Netanyahu has been repeating all along in his visit to Washington summed up in Israel will not return to the 1967 boundaries.