Netanyahu's Speech and the Issue of State Recognition

This is making news everywhere, so I thought I'd throw in my two cents.

Israeli PM Netanyahu recently gave a major policy speech (full text here) in which he said he would accept a Palestinian state if it were demilitarized and if it recognized the state of Israel.

The opposition's responses to the speech have not been encouraging. Indeed, I am seeing plenty of responses reported saying that Netanyahu has ruined chances for peace by the content of his speech. See Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's quote: "Netanyahu's demand that Palestinians recognize Israel as the Jewish state is ruining the chance for peace . . . not Egypt, nor any other Arab country would support Netanyahu's approach." (And Egypt is one of the Arab nations at peace with Israel.) Meanwhile, there is some reporting that the Palestinian Authority suggested that the speech would trigger a new intifada.

I should point out that the mere fact that Netanyahu even said anything about accepting a Palestinian state is a huge move for him. It marks the first time in his entire career that he has accepted the idea. But he will receive no credit for this.

As always, I find it terribly ironic (and to mention woefully counterproductive) that there is so much overwhelming pressure on Israel to accept a Palestinian state but nowhere near as much pressure for the other parties to accept the state of Israel in return. I thought it was now the communis opinio and everybody's starting-point that a two-state solution is the way to go. Call me crazy, but to me a "two-state solution" entails each state accepting the existence of the other.