INTERNATIONAL REPORTS ON PM NETANYAHU

• AP:Israel's Netanyahu vows to seek peace with Arabs – Benjamin Netanyahu, taking office as Israel's new leader Tuesday, promised to seek "full peace" with the Arab and Muslim world, but refused to utter the words the world was waiting to hear: "Palestinian state." The well-spoken, U.S.-educated hawk took pains to portray himself as a pragmatist, telling a packed parliament that Israel does not want to rule the Palestinians.

• LATIMES: New Israeli government of Netanyahu wins confirmation in parliament - His nationally televised address generated scant reaction in the chamber until he turned to domestic matters. From then on, heckling interrupted him frequently, starting as he lamented the decline of Israel's educational standards and called for reform. Netanyahu spoke slowly and solemnly, looking tired after weeks of bargaining to assemble a ruling coalition. Besides his Likud Party, he gathered the support of three other right-wing parties, plus Labor. Together they hold 69 of the 120 seats in parliament. As Netanyahu read out the names of his appointees, he was interrupted again,"Seven, eight, nine. . . ," a number of opposition lawmakers chanted as the list grew."Oh, they know how to count," Netanyahu quipped, at first dismissing the protest over the super-sized government and its burden on the Treasury at a time of recession.He grew visibly angry as the heckling continued, turning to parliament Speaker Reuven Rivlin and imploring him to "maintain the honor of today's stately event.""For three years I led the opposition and I never recall such contempt," Netanyahu said. Israelis are accustomed to rude political discourse, but such outbursts are rare during inaugurations.

• NYTIMES:Netanyahu Offers Conciliation, but Not Concessions — Taking over as Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu struck a somewhat conciliatory tone toward the Palestinians in an address Tuesday to Parliament, promising negotiations toward a permanent accord.But Mr. Netanyahu, the leader of the hawkish Likud Party, stopped short of endorsing a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a potential point of friction with the United States.President Obama has called the advancement of the two-state solution “critical.” Mr. Netanyahu opposes the idea of a sovereign Palestinian state, proposing a more limited form of self-rule instead.

• WASHINGTONPOST:Israeli Parliament Approves Netanyahu as Prime Minister -- Israel's parliament on Tuesday approved Binyamin Netanyahu as prime minister, ushering in a government at odds with international expectations that Israel should pursue negotiations that would lead to an independent Palestinian state.Netanyahu's government says it represents an electorate that has soured on peace talks with the Palestinians, grown weary over rocket fire from Islamist groups in the Gaza Strip, and become increasingly worried about Iranian influence and nuclear technology.But he said his efforts as prime minister will not be consumed with negotiating the international borders of an independent Palestinian state, a task implicit in the idea of a two-state solution that forms the basis of U.S. and international policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Economic and security cooperation between the two sides, he said, will be the priorities.