"I want the talks with the Palestinians will begin immediately. I think direct talks will begin very soon," Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Thursday in New York. He made these comments after he met with UN Secretary-General who expressed his support for the direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
During the meeting the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon thanked the Prime Minister on theeasiness of the Gaza siege. Netanyahu stressed that any future arrangement with the Palestinians would have to deal with Israel's security.
The Palestinians however said the way for direct talks is still far. "We are sincerely interested in starting direct negotiations, but Netanyahu keeps closing the door in front of us," Saeb Erekat, a chief negotiator for the Palestinian Authority, told the Voice of Palestine Radio. "Netanyahu must decide if he wants peace or settlements. He cannot have both," Erekat said.
