'Abbas destroying peace process by not negotiating'

During interview with NBC’s 'Meet the Press,' Netanyahu says he believes Palestinians want a state, but they have to give peace in return.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu 311 (R) (photo credit: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu 311 (R)
(photo credit: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday blamed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for destroying the peace process by refusing to negotiate.
During an interview Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press, Netanyahu said that he believed the Palestinians want a state, but they have to give peace in return.
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“What they’re trying to do in the United Nations is to get a state without giving Israel peace…and I think that’s wrong,” he told host David Gregory, referring to PA Abbas's speech at the UN General Assembly.
The Prime Minister said he was “trying to move forward” the peace process through negotiations, and explained that Abbas’s persistent “refusal to accept Israel’s existence“ was at the core of the conflict.
Netanyahu explained that he thought the Palestinians were trying to get away without negotiating.
“Many, many countries are coming to realize that our demand that we have direct negotiations, and that the Palestinians finally recognize the Jewish state and give this tiny country, Israel, the security requirements it needs, people are getting around to that,” he said.
On Saturday, Netanyahu addressed his domestic audience the day after his speech to the UN General Assembly in New York, saying "I will be the one who establishes a peace agreement between two nation-states, one of which will be a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes a Jewish state." Netanyahu's comments came in an interview with Channel 2 news.
"If these basic conditions are agreed to, and we can ensure all of our security needs are met, we can achieve a peace agreement," the prime minister added.