PM: Peace Deal only Possible once Israel's Terms are Met

by Shlomo Cesana, Mati Tuchfeld, Daniel Siryoti, Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "We have a set of specific terms that have yet to be met in the negotiations. ... We are still not there, not even walking down that hall" • Netanyahu set to meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Peace deal only possible once Israel's terms are met | Photo credit: AP

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are set to meet on Thursday, as the U.S. ramps up efforts to get Israel and the Palestinians to reach a peace accord. Officials in Jerusalem have yet to comment on the details of a proposed U.S. security arrangement, but have stressed that an agreement on the Jordan Valley still remains to be reached.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Monday night that the U.S. is focusing on a permanent agreement, not an interim one. 

"Only once Israel's terms are met will there be a peace deal," Netanyahu said at a Likud faction meeting in the Knesset on Monday. "I would like to say something regarding the speculation about the coalition on the peace process. I want to clarify: Any deal, if one is reached, will be brought to a national referendum. What will decide whether a deal is reached is not one coalition's dictate or another, but the essence of the agreement." 

Netanyahu said that Israel and the Palestinians are not that close to signing a deal. 

"We are not standing before a permanent accord. We have a set of specific terms that have yet to be met in the negotiations. ... We are still not there, not even walking down that hall," he said.

The Palestinians echoed a similar sentiment on Monday. Officials in the Palestinian Authority are upset with Kerry and claim he stood behind the talks of delaying the third wave of Palestinian prisoners to be released, currently scheduled for Dec. 28.

Palestinian Liberation Organization Executive Committee Secretary Yasser Abed Rabbo told Israel Hayom that Kerry's attempts to delay the prisoner release were made to pressure the Palestinians to accept the conditions proposed by the Americans. 

The U.S. plan calls for Israel and the Palestinians to sign an interim deal which settles security concerns, and to defer national policy and future statehood details to after the nine month period allotted to the negotiations.

Netanyahu on Saturday tied the negotiations with the Palestinians to the Iranian nuclear program. The two topics were also a central focus during his meeting with Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina on Monday. 

"We share a desire to see a peaceful and stable Middle East, and the greatest threat to that and to the peace of the world is Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons. It's therefore critical that the final deal with Iran prevent that from happening," Netanyahu said.

Defense Minister Moshe (Bogie) Ya'alon also spoke with the Guatemalan president. 

"The Iranians are building terrorist infrastructure to strike the U.S.," he said. "Everywhere there is an Iranian embassy, there is a base for intelligence gathering and terrorist activity."

Kerry leaves Wednesday on his ninth trip to the Middle East to resume talks with Israel and the Palestinians.

''It's a commute, folks,'' Kerry joked Monday night about his frequent travel to Jerusalem and Ramallah, the first two stops on an eight-day trip that continues on to Vietnam and the Philippines.

Kerry spoke at the 100th anniversary dinner of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, a leading international Jewish humanitarian organization that works in more than 70 countries and Israel.

In his speech, Kerry tried to allay fears that Israel is threatened by the agreement signed by six world powers with Iran to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.

Netanyahu has complained that the deal gives Iran too much relief while leaving Iran's nuclear infrastructure intact. Netanyahu, who believes Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb, says Iran's military nuclear program must be dismantled.

''We will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. Not now. Not ever,'' Kerry said, reaffirming U.S. commitment to the security of Israel.

On the peace talks, Kerry said he and Netanyahu were ''hand-in-hand'' and ''mind-in-mind'' in how to proceed. He said that despite skepticism, he continues to believe that a final agreement between Israel and the Palestinians remains a possibility.

Shlomo Cesana, Mati Tuchfeld, Daniel Siryoti, Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=13909

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