Netanyahu: It's important that we tell 'our truth' at UN

Prime minister speaks at Likud gathering before scheduled trip to New York; reiterates call for negotiations in order to create lasting peace.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu 311 (photo credit: Moshe Milner/GPO)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu 311
(photo credit: Moshe Milner/GPO)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke at a pre-holiday gathering for Likud members on Tuesday evening, before his scheduled trip to New York to speak at the United Nations General Assembly.
"I am going tonight to New York to speak at the UN and meet with [US President Barack] Obama," he said. "Our region is going through a big shock and we have to maintain what is ours while dealing with the challenges from the region."
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"It's important to go there and tell our truth as a people who want peace and have been attacked so many times," Netanyahu continued.
"I've told the PA chair many times, including yesterday, that the path to peace comes through negotiations and not through unilateral acts. The way to get to the end of negotiations is to start them and stick with them. That's what Israel wanted to do, but the Palestinians refused. There is a growing understanding in the world about what has to be done before a state is created. That's what I will speak about in the UN."
The prime minister insisted that Israel doesn't "want peace just on paper but a lasting peace."
"For that we need to stand up for our interests. It's easier to give in and not stand up and get applauded by the world that doesn't understand what we have been through. Mayors here in the South and North know that. We are determined to stand for our interests and our truth."
Netanyahu's comments come after Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki responded to Israeli calls for an immediate resumption of peace talks, saying that Israel must accept the PA's list of terms before negotiations can restart.
"Netanyahu has to accept all terms of reference and stop settlement activity including [in] east Jerusalem, to enter negotiations immediately with [a] timeframe not to exceed six months [and] with international guarantees to make any negotiations serious and credible," Al Jazeera quoted Malki as saying in New York.
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