by Shlomo Cesana, Daniel Siryoti and Israel Hayom Staff
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flies to Rome to meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry • Netanyahu: No to unilateral Palestinian initiatives, no to time-limited negotiations, and no to a peace plan being forced on Israel.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a past meeting Photo credit: Amos Ben Gershom / GPO
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Rome on Monday morning, where he was to meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
It was expected that Netanyahu would ask Kerry to ignore the request of Arab League nations that the U.S. not use its U.N. Security Council veto to thwart Palestinian initiatives to set a two-year deadline for the establishment of a Palestinian state and an "end to the occupation."
Credit: Reuters
On Sunday night, Israeli officials said Netanyahu would tell Kerry "no to unilateral Palestinian initiatives, no to time-limited negotiations, and no to a peace plan being forced on Israel."
At the start of Sunday morning's cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said, "Israel, to a large degree, stands as a solitary island against the waves of Islamic extremism that are washing over the entire Middle East. Until now we have successfully withstood and repelled these attacks and now we also stand against the possibility of a diplomatic assault, an attempt to compel us -- by means of U.N. decisions -- to withdraw to the 1967 lines within two years. This will lead Islamic extremists to the suburbs of Tel Aviv and to the heart of Jerusalem. We will not allow this. We will strongly and responsibly rebuff this. Let there be no doubt, this will be rejected."
Netanyahu delivered a similar message on Sunday night in Nazareth Illit at a Christian Enlistment Forum event in honor of the upcoming Christmas holiday.
"All of the parliaments rushing to recognize a Palestinian state should listen to what Hamas leaders in Gaza have been saying, even in recent days. They are saying they will take over Judea and Samaria and set up a second Hamastan there to use as a base for the destruction of Israel. We have not and will not let them do this," Netanyahu said.
During a visit to the IDF Central Command on Sunday, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said, "The Palestinians prefer contrarian and unilateral moves in international institutions to harm Israel's legitimacy, but the harsh incitement on social networks, in the [Palestinian] media establishment and by the leaders of the Palestinian Authority has brought about a string of events and attacks by individuals."
Meanwhile, the Palestinian leadership met at the PA government headquarters in Ramallah on Sunday night to discuss future diplomatic moves. Chief PA negotiator Saeb Erekat confirmed that the Palestinian delegation at the U.N. in New York would present to the Security Council on Wednesday a proposed Palestinian resolution calling for an Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian territories within a designated time frame. Erekat will meet with Kerry in Rome on Tuesday.
A PA official in Ramallah told Israel Hayom that despite calls for an end to security cooperation with Israel following the death last week of Palestinian Authority official Ziad Abu Ein, security cooperation would continue. The official said security cooperation was just as much a Palestinian interest as it was an Israeli one.
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=22141
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