Netanyahu: Israel will not be pushed to peace [View All]

Israel will not accept a Middle East peace agreement that is forced on it by external forces, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said in private meetings in recent days, sources said Wednesday.

Netanyahu reportedly told close aides that "it won't work and it won't be acceptable if a settlement is forced on us," stressing the need to ensure proper security arrangements as part of any future peace deal.

For that end, the PM reportedly said, Israel would have to retain a military presence along its eastern border with Jordan, adding that any agreement that doesn't allow for those measure will not be accepted.



Netanyahu's comments came as the Washington Post quoted senior U.S. officials as saying earlier Wednesday that President Barack Obama was weighing the possibility of submitting a new American Middle East peace plan by this fall.

Also Wednesday, in a press conference in the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said differences with Washington over a disputed construction project in East Jerusalem were yet to be resolved, signaling a continued deadlock in the U.S. push to restart Mideast peace talks.

http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1161409.html