Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Wednesday evening that a renewal of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority is imminent. “I have a basis for believing that in the coming weeks we will renew the peace process with the Palestinians without preconditions,” he said, in a speech at the prestigious Herzliya Conference.
I have said for a long time that the international community recognizes the fact that Israel is ready and willing to renew the peace process. From the moment that this realization ripened in the minds of the central elements in the international community, the possibility of realizing this step ripened as well.”
Regarding the US mediation between Israel and the PA in attempts to revive the negotiations, Netanyahu said that “it takes two to tango. In the Middle East it takes three, and then we can continue the dance as a couple. If the will to begin the process exists, we will see the process being renewed in the coming weeks.”
It is not clear whether the phrase “without preconditions” means that Netanyahu expects the PA to give up its current conditions for negotiations – namely, a freeze to all construction by Jews in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem. The demands were stated just yesterday by PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad at the Herzliya Conference.
Negotiations with Israel were discontinued by the PA after Israel struck back at terrorists in Gaza in early 2009.