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The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been warmly received by the US Congress, where he gave a speech focused on the stalled peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

American politicians from both sides of the aisle rose to their feet more than 20 times during the 45-minute speech.

However, Mr Netanyahu said little new in outlining his uncompromising peace plan, blaming the Palestinians for blocking progress.

He told congress that Palestinian refugees would be resettled in a future Palestinian state, not inside Israel. He also rejected any division of Jerusalem.

Mr Netanyahu has refused to negotiate with the Palestinian Government unless it tore up a power-sharing deal with Hamas, which he called the Palestinian version of Al Qaeda.

He also returned to the question that caused so much tension between himself and US President Barack Obama - returning the borders that existed before the 1967 war.

Such a state would include the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and the mostly Arab, but Israel-annexed, east Jerusalem, with some adjustments and land swaps so Israel can maintain settlement blocs.

Although Mr Netanhyahu admitted Israel would make compromises, he maintained there would be no return to pre-1967 borders.

"The Israeli people will be prepared to make a far-reaching compromise. I will be prepared to make a far-reaching compromise," he said.

"We'll be generous about the size of the future Palestinian state, but as president Obama said, the border will be different than the one that existed on June 4, 1967.

"Israel will not return to the indefensible boundaries of 1967."

Mr Netanyahu says Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has the power to change history by acknowledging the state of Israel.

"President Abbas must do what I have done. I stood before my people, and I told you it wasn't easy for me, and I said 'I will accept a Palestinian state'," he said.

"It's time for president Abbas to stand before his people and say, 'I will accept a Jewish state'."

The reaction in the Middle East was swift, with a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority saying Mr Netanyahu's statements presented obstacles to peace.

One senior Palestinian official says the speech amounted to a "declaration of war", while one of Mr Abbas's aides, Saeb Erekat, condemned it.

"This was a statement of public relations, this was a statement of someone who wants to dictate the results of negotiations before they begin," he said.

Around the time Mr Netanyahu spoke to congress, hardline Jewish settlers took over a home in the West Bank city of Hebron.

Their leader seemed to dismiss both the Israeli prime minister and the US president.

"They can babble, talk, make illusionist peace," he says, "but these teenagers are the ones who determine reality on the ground. Obama and Bibi babble - we act."