Netanyahu urges Palestine to begin peace talks

I / Jerusalem November 16, 2009, 10:23 IST

Warning that Israel would respond with its own one-sided steps if they resort to any unilateral move including declaration of statehood, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked Palestinians to begin stalled peace talks without "wasting time".

But Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad re-asserted that the declaration of a Palestinian state would be a mere formality once the institutions of a Palestinian state are created. "There is no substitute for negotiations between Israel and the PA and any unilateral path will only unravel the framework of agreements between us and will only bring unilateral steps from Israel's side," Netanyahu yesterday said in his first response to a Palestinian initiative to ask the UN Security Council to endorse a Palestinian state.

The path to peace in West Asia was at the negotiating table, the Israeli premier said, adding that he was not interested in "negotiating for the sake of negotiations."

The right-wing leader emphasised that negotiations must begin "at once and in good faith" between the two sides and that "there was no point in wasting time". The negotiations would not be easy, he said, and would have to cover sensitive issues.

"Israeli leaders must be brave of heart to see this go forth but so too, must the Palestinians be", said Netanyahu, who has been unrelenting on a Palestinian demand to freeze all construction activities in the West Bank as a pre-condition to kick start the stalled peace process.