Itongadol.- Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu invited Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to the negotiating table in a speech to the Knesset Wednesday.
"I call on Abbas to put preconditions aside and talk. Give peace a chance," Netanyahu said in English, quoting the John Lennon song.
The prime minister spoke at a Knesset debate called by the opposition to discuss the stalled peace process and the Arab League peace initiative.
Netanyahu mentioned foreign government officials visiting Israel, saying "they all know Israel is not the side avoiding negotiations" and that he speaks to US Secretary of State John Kerry several times a week.
"The citizens of Israel want security and peace; I want security and peace," the prime minister stated.
Netanyahu expressed hope that Abbas will say yes to his invitation, and pointed out to MKs who accused him of not being willing to return to peace talks that he invited Abbas to negotiate at the UN, in Washington D.C. and several times in the Knesset.
Despite these invitations, Netanyahu added, he only spoke to Abbas for a few hours over the last four years.
The prime minister repeated multiple times that Abbas should not set preconditions for talks.
"The most important thing is not to try to stop negotiations before they\’re started. Don\’t have endless talks about starting talks," he said. "We will listen to any initiative and are willing to discuss any offer that is not a dictate."
Netanyahu delineated his policy to prevent weapons from reaching Hezbollah or Hamas from Syria, saying he described it to US President Barack Obama on his visit to Israel and to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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