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Netanyahu: Israel ready for talks with Syria, no preconditions
By Barak Ravid and Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz Correspondents and News Agencies
Tags: Haaretz TV, Israel news 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday after talks with U.S. President Barack Obama that Israel was ready to immediately open peace talks with Syria without preconditions.

"There was agreement that we must immediately launch peace talks," Netanyahu told reporters at Ben-Gurion Airport after three days of talks in Washington.

"I said I was ready to immediately open peace talks with the Palestinians, by the way, with the Syrians as well, of course, without preconditions," Netanyahu said. "But I made it clear that any peace settlement there must find a solution to Israel's security needs".
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Netanyahu, who took office seven weeks ago, had appeared cool to the idea of reopening stalled talks with Damascus. He has repeatedly voiced opposition to pulling out of the Golan Heights, territory Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War which Syria wants returned as part of any peace deal."

Netanyahu also said that he and Obama concurred that the wider Arab world should be involved in the Middle East talk.

"There was agreement on the need to widen the peace process to include Arab countries - in other words, not only that Israel must provide answers and the Palestinians must provide answers, but Arab countries must provide concrete answers at the beginning stage of the process," he said. "In the coming weeks and days we will begin a round of talks with an America to work on these points."

Netanyahu said Tuesday, after a day of meetings on Capitol Hill with U.S. lawmakers, that Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel was prepared to relaunch peace talks with the Palestinian Authority immediately.

Concluding his three-day trip in Washington, the prime minister said that he and Obama were "working together to reignite the peace process and are looking for ways to bring external sources from the Arab world into the process."

The U.S. officials reiterated throughout their talks with the Israeli leader that Washington is committed to a two-state solution and will not tolerate continued settlement activity in the West Bank.

Clinton: U.S. will get Israel to agree to two states

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Al-Jazeera in remarks aired Wednesday that the U.S. believes Israel and the Palestinian Authority would agree to its follow through with a two-state solution, despite the various obstacles that have hindred the process.

"We have a team in this Administration, and we are looking for partners. We think that the Palestinian Authority is ready to be a partner," she said. "We believe through our efforts we will get the Israelis to make the kind of commitment to a two-state solution that is absolutely necessary.

"We know that many leaders in the Arab world see this in a different way, as the Arab Peace Initiative suggests. So let;s try to bring people to that recognition, and that includes Hamas," she added.

Netanyahu aide: Two-state solution is 'childish and stupid

Meanwhile, an aide to Netanyahu said Wednesday that media focus on the idea of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, favored by President Barack Obama, is childish and stupid.

The aide, Ron Dermer, spoke to The Associated Press after Netanyahu and his entourage arrived home from Washington. He denied that he had called the two-state concept itself childish and stupid, as he was quoted earlier as saying as an anonymous official briefing reporters on the plane carrying Netanyahu home.

Obama has made it clear that the U.S. backs creation of a Palestinian state, but Netanyahu has not endorsed the concept.

"I told reporters that the focus by the media on the concept of solving the Israel-Palestinian issue through a two-state solution is childish and stupid, but I deny that I described the idea that way," Dermer said.

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      1.   Peace onions in the Shuq 18:55  |  Fortuna Benmayor 20/05/09
      2.   Return the Golan and have peace with Syria... 18:59  |  BBSNews 20/05/09
      3.   Two State solution must be realized 19:00  |  Mark Jeffery Koch 20/05/09
      4.   Ron Dermer gives us.... 19:11  |  Adam 20/05/09
      5.   OK if it`s stupid...but is there a better idea? 19:14  |  Dan 20/05/09
      6.   Why`s media focus childish and stupid if the idea isn`t? 19:33  |  Michael 20/05/09
      7.   blowing 19:35  |  oz 20/05/09
      8.   Israel 19:40  |  Jeff 20/05/09
      9.   let the peace talks begin 19:48  |  Joey 20/05/09
      10.   Was everyone born yesterday? 20:36  |  IW 20/05/09
      11.   As part of the Arab world`s contribution to peace-making - after 20:44  |  Avigdor 20/05/09
      12.   Dermer 20:51  |  Harold 20/05/09
      13.   amusing 20:53  |  potobac 20/05/09
      14.   #1 Jess - Detroit 20:54  |  *BEN JABO 20/05/09
      15.   Netanyahu`s aide.... firing on all cylinders 20:59  |  allang 20/05/09
      16.   Answer #5 & #1 21:23  |  Col [Res] Cohen 20/05/09
      17.   Joey #2 21:37  |  Jasper 20/05/09
      18.   Of course the media is 21:44  |  Frank 20/05/09
      19.   Syria must acknowledge Golan is Israeli 22:06  |  Baruch Gold 20/05/09
      20.   Cohen, Moshe Dayan says you lie... 22:09  |  BBSNews 20/05/09
      21.   are these talks to take place in disney world paris 22:10  |  v hardman 20/05/09
      22.   Can`t have the cake and eat it too 22:11  |  Indian 20/05/09
      23.   Ron Dremer - think before you talk next time 22:29  |  D 20/05/09
      24.   It will be nice to see PM Netanyahu speak for HIMSELF 22:42  |  Aaron 20/05/09
      25.   # Baruch my friend, Syria will never cede Golan as Israeli... 22:44  |  Mark Leaman 20/05/09
      26.   #18 Frank 00:51  |  Courcey 21/05/09
      27.   to Frank #18 00:58  |  zeev 21/05/09
      28.   Golan 00:59  |  Maerton 21/05/09
      29.   to Maerton #28 02:40  |  zeev 21/05/09
      30.   Baruch, you must give Hebron to Turkey... 07:18  |  BBSNews 21/05/09
      31.   Mark Leaman promotes land and resource theft openly... 07:40  |  BBSNews 21/05/09
      32.   Two-state solution 08:07  |  M. Kerjman 21/05/09
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