This despite the recent Fatah-Hamas reconciliation deal that sets the stage for the integration of a terror group calling for the destruction of Israel and the genocide of Israeli Jews into the PA.
Hamas… the name does not interest me, what matters is the content," Peres told reporters last week.
The 88-year-old president’s comments outline a policy stance starkly at odds with that of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government, which has said there will be no negotiations with a PA government that includes Hamas.
In secret negotiations in 1993, then-Defense Minister Peres carried out talks with Yasser Arafat, behind then-Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin’s back, that resulted in the Oslo Accords.
In the intervening years the Oslo Accords have, instead of peace, resulted in two Intifadas, one aptly named the Oslo War which killed nearly 1,100 Israelis through 2005. Another 117 have been murdered since then.
"Even today we can achieve a comprehensive peace between us and the Palestinians," Peres told reporters at a joint press conference held on Sunday, as Naqba incidents raged at the borders and in the PA-controlled areas.
Opening the press conference by noting the pervasive changes gripping the Middle East, eternal-optimist Peres expressed his longheld opinion that no matter what happens, it is time for Israel to return to negotiating table to enable PA Arabs to build a state that ensures Israel’s security needs.
He did not mention that it was Abbas’ intransigence and preconditions that prevented negotiations from taking place even before the Hamas-Fatah unity.
"I believe that we can reach a peace agreement. The gaps between the sides are small and can be closed," Peres said.
Against Unilateral Declaration
Peres added that a unilateral declaration of PA statehood by the UN is "not the right thing to do for either side and will only "increase the animosity and instability in the region… Europe, as a central part of the Quartet, set very clear conditions for the Hamas – namely to renounce terror, honor all signed agreements, and recognize the State of Israel – and these principles should be enforced."
The President called on Napolitano to continue to "voice loud and clear support" for direct negotiations between Israel and the PA to "end the conflict." Napolitano, referencing uprisings in the middle east, said Italy does not underestimate the "complexity of the current situation.
"There are real issues of freedom and social justice, and both Italy and the European Union have taken upon themselves a commitment regarding democracy and social progress in the Middle East a long time ago," Napolitano said.
When asked about "Naqba Day," Napolitano said, "Italy supports Israel’s right to exist and to reside in security in the Middle East. We recognize the UN decision to establish the State of Israel historically."
Peres’ comments run counter to the definitively apolitical role Israel’s presidents are expected to take. Israel’s presidents are expected to serve as non-partisan unifiers in national life while serving a ceremonial role and avoiding partisan political stances.
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