"This conflict has raged for nearly a century because the Palestinians refuse to end it"

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out accepting a settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the 1967 borders, revisiting a spat over the issue with US President Barack Obama.

Netanyahu addressed the powerful pro-Israel lobby in Washington late on Monday saying he would spell out his vision for peace with the Palestinians in a speech to Congress on Tuesday, but promised that would not include a withdrawal to lines that existed before the 1967 Six Day War- something that the US president Barack Obama had suggested a few days earlier.

"I want to assure you of one thing, (peace) must leave Israel with security and therefore Israel cannot return to the indefensible 1967 lines," he said to thunderous applause from the more than 10,000 of Israel's staunchest supporters in the conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committtee (AIPAC).

He said "this conflict has raged for nearly a century because the Palestinians refuse to end it. They refuse to accept the Jewish state. This is what this conflict has always been about."

"I will outline a vision for a secure Israeli-Palestinian peace ... I intend to speak the unvarnished truth. Now, more than ever, what we need is clarity and events in our region are finally opening people's eyes on the simple truth."People in the region are thinking about freedom, yearning for freedom and opportunity, so it's time to stop blaming Israel for all of the region's problems."

In an address disrupted several times by protesters, the Israeli prime minister condemned the Palestinian group Hamas. Several protesters interrupted Netanyahu's speech, saying that to deny the plight of the Palestinians was "unacceptable," but they were drowned out by the cheers of the many delegates as they were marched out of the hall by security.

"Imagine keeping a young soldier locked in a dark dungeon for five years without a single visit of the Red Cross," Netanyahu said, referring to Gilad Shalit, the Israeli occupation soldier held captive by Hamas since 2006.

"I think the entire civilized community should join Israel, America and all of us in a simple demand: release Gilad Shalit," he said, describing the soldier's capture as an "outrageous crime" turning a blind eye to the more than thousands of Palestinians detained in the Israeli jails.

Obama drew Israeli anger on Thursday, when in a major policy speech on the Middle East he said a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip should largely be drawn along lines that existed before the 1967 war in which Israel occupied those areas and East Jerusalem.

On Sunday, Obama presented that blueprint in his own address to AIPAC. But he seemed to ease Israeli anger somewhat when he made clear Israel would likely be able to negotiate keeping some settlements as part of land swaps in any final deal with the Palestinians.