Most Israelis share Netanyahu's position on 1967 lines
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's stance regarding the 1967 cease-fire lines is supported by a majority of Israeli society, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told members of his Yisrael Beiteinu Party on Monday, local media reported.
The comment comes less than a day before Netanyahu is due to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress.
White House officials expect the prime minister to propose a diplomatic initiative that would enable the peace process with the Palestinians to resume.
In a televised meeting with President Barack Obama on Friday, Netanyahu responded to the president's Middle East policy speech a day earlier, saying that Israel cannot go back to the " indefensible" 1967 cease-fire lines.
Senior American officials were reportedly outraged over what they perceived as Netanyahu's bold, public confrontation with Obama.
The Ha'aretz daily on Monday quoted an anonymous Israeli source as saying that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's feelings towards Netanyahu "range from loathing to hatred."
Lieberman on Monday joined several Israeli officials who attempted to downplay reports of an emerging crisis in Israel's relations with its staunchest ally.
"There is no need to turn every disagreement into drama," Lieberman told Yisrael Beiteinu lawmakers.
Netanyahu had also rebuffed claims that his relations with his Obama have taken yet another bad turn. In a telephone conference with reporters early Sunday, Netanyahu said the media had "blown things out of proportion. It's just simple controversy between friends."
In a bid to avert a further stumble in already-tense relations with its closest ally, Obama toned down his stance in an address before AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby, on Sunday.
Addressing a cheering crowd of some 11,000 representatives of America's Jewish leadership, Obama said that "Israelis and Palestinians themselves will negotiate a border different than the one which existed on June 4, 1967, with agreed, mutual land swaps. "
"This formula will enable the sides to take into account the changes that occurred in the past 44 years," Obama said.
