Netanyahu: “I’m Prepared to Negotiate” with Abbas “Right Now”

Ariela Fleisig — July 21, 2011 – 1:58 pm | Israel Comments (0) Add a comment

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Al Arabiya Television in an interview today that he is “prepared to negotiate with President Abbas for peace between our two people right now.”

The following are excerpts from the interview provided by Al Arabiya.

On peace with the Palestinians:

We will always look for people who want peace. We don’t nullify people on their beliefs but we do expect them to recognize and have a place for the State of Israel. If people like Iran or Hezbollah say ‘the State of Israel shouldn’t exist [or should be] wiped off the face of the earth’ then there is not much of a place to go from there. 

We have to listen to people with different points of view but from two points: One from the internal Arab point of view: if people say we want democracy then we ask they respect democracy. You can’t expect people to open a democratic door to those who want to destroy it. Two, see it from my point of view: I’m willing to negotiate peace with anyone that’s willing to accept the right of my people and my country. 

Regarding a Palestinian State:

Six Israeli Prime Ministers, myself included, have all agreed to a Palestinian state. So why have we not had peace yet? Two former prime ministers made very generous concessions and we all recognize that we have to make difficult compromises for peace. I recognize that. 

On negotiations:

We couldn’t [reach] peace because the Palestinian leadership did not want to conclude negotiations. My frustration over the past two years has been that we can’t restart the negotiations. And I repeat what I said to you a minute ago that this is the most important thing. I’m prepared to negotiate with President Abbas for peace between our two people right now. We can do it here in my home in Jerusalem, we can do it in Ramallah, and we can do it anywhere.

Regarding Gaza and flotilla activism:

We are not preventing the import of goods, food, and medicine to Gaza. Anything can go through. The Gaza economy has grown by 25 percent in the last three months. It’s almost a world record. We are, however, concerned about a naval approach to Gaza because on a ship you can bring in entire rockets [which can be] fired into Israel. We don’t want those sea lines open until there is a regime in Gaza and one that makes peace with Israel and doesn’t fire rockets into it.

If people want to free Gaza, then they should free it from the Hamas regime that doesn’t give the real freedom to the people of Gaza. We have no argument or battle with the people of Gaza. We are concerned with Hamas, a terrorist organization that fires rockets into Israel. That is the only reason behind naval actions. 

The interview, which is his first with an Arabic media outlet since he took office in 2009, will be broadcast later today.

Click here to read more excerpts from the interview.

 

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