"I am turning to leaders of the Arab countries and calling to them: Let's talk. Let's make peace. I am willing to meet with you anywhere and anytime,"
"I call on you, our Palestinian neighbors, and to the leadership of the Palestinian Authority: Let us begin peace negotiations immediately, without preconditions," he said. "Israel is committed to international agreements and expects all the other parties to fulfill their obligations as well."
"If we receive this guarantee for demilitarization and the security arrangements required by Israel, and if the Palestinians recognize Israel as the nation of the Jewish people, we will be prepared for a true peace agreement (and) to reach a solution of a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state," Netanyahu said.
But Netanyahu also pointed out:"Let me use the most simple words - the root of the struggle is the refusal to recognize Israel as the Jewish state. The initial Arab refusal was to a Jewish state in any location, before Israeli presence in the West Bank," the prime minister said.
"The closer we get to an agreement with the Palestinians, the further it is rejected," he continued. "We tried a withdraw with an agreement, without one, a partial withdraw and offered a near-complete withdraw. We uprooted Jewish settlers from their homes, and received a barrage of missiles in return."
"Sadly, even the Palestinian moderates won't say the most simple statement - Israel is the Jewish national state, and will remain such.
"To achieve peace, courage and honesty are necessary from both sides. The Palestinians must say - 'enough with this conflict. We recognize Israel's right to exist, and want to live by their side.'
"A public Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish nation-state is a precondition for regional peace," Netanyahu said.
"Judea and Samaria are not a foreign country for us. This is the land of our forefathers. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The right of the Jewish people over our country does not come from the suffering we have been through. Some say if it weren’t for the Holocaust there would be no State if Israel. But I say that if Israel had been established in time there would not have been a Holocaust," Netanyahu said.
"Our right to establish our country here stems from one fact: IsraeI is the homeland of the Jewish people and it is here that our identity was forged."
"With God`s help we will know no more wars, only peace".
