Netanyahu aide denies PM okayed return to 67 lines in talks with Palestinians

An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied on Friday a report in an Israeli tabloid which claimed that the premier had agreed in principle to an Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 lines, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The prime minister never agreed to a return to the 67 lines, a partition of Al Quds, and recognition of the right of return, the aide said. "His position on these issues remains unchanged."
According to the popular circulation daily Yediot Aharonot, Netanyahu considered an agreement with the Palestinians that would have uprooted West Bank settlements and recognized Palestinian right in Al Quds.
The document was the result of secret talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority during Netanyahu's previous term, from 2009-2013, the daily reported.
In the document considered by Netanyahu’s envoy, Yitzhak Molcho, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s confidant Hussein Agha, Israel would agree to negotiate a peace deal on the basis of the 1967 borders, with land swaps and terms that would allow Israelis living in the West Bank to choose whether to remain under Palestinian rule.
The prime minister's office told Yediot that the document was a draft initiated by American mediators and subject to vetoes of the negotiating parties. Israel Radio quoted officials as saying that Netanyahu ultimately rejected the terms.