Palestinians Must Hold 'Genuine' Peace Talks: Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that the Palestinian Authority should cut its ties to Hamas militants running the Gaza Strip and engage in "genuine" peace talks with Israel.

Speaking with NBC television, Netanyahu also insisted he was "proud to be the prime minister of all Israeli citizens, Arabs and Jews alike" after triggering outrage for urging supporters to vote for him, warning Israeli Arabs were "turning out in droves."

The veteran Israeli leader had raised global alarm when he vowed in the final days of the election campaign that he would never agree to a Palestinian state on his watch -- flying in the face of decades of US policy to achieve a two-state solution.

In his first interview with a US television network since winning an unprecedented fourth term on Tuesday, Netanyahu did not completely walk back those comments.

But he suggested he remained open to the possibility of new peace talks, saying Israel would "need the recognition of (a) Jewish state and real security in order to have a realistic two-state solution."

"I was talking about what is achievable and what is not achievable," Netanyahu said.

"To make it achievable, then you have to have real negotiations with people committed to peace ... it's time we saw the pressure on the Palestinians to show that they are committed too."


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