Excerpts:
#peace - I am in charge
"If the Palestinians would recognize the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish state and give up on the right of return, and if security arrangements were agreed upon to his satisfaction, no coalition consideration will stop me.”
“But up until now they are just trying to run away from negotiations, If they enter [talks], and accept those two basic conditions to reaching an agreement, I will not hesitate.”
#peace options
“If we get into the discussions, it could be that we will hit a wall – on [the issue] of Jerusalem, on refugees. It is possible, then, that as a result there will be an interim agreement. I don’t rule out that possibility.”
“This can be the result of a diplomatic process, but not its first aim".
The prime minister said that Lieberman was not “humiliating” him by making statements that ran contrary to his own positions.
#Israel security
"The security situation in the country is incomparably better than it had been two and three years ago,because our enemies know not to mess with me. They are, at least, more cautious. And if they shoot something, they will get it back on the spot. That is a policy I set, and we implement it.”
"It would be a fatal mistake for Hamas to act aggressively".
During the interview, Netanyahu again reiterated that any agreement with the Palestinians would necessitate an Israeli presence on the Jordan River, and that he was opposed to a division of Jerusalem agreed upon by former prime minister Ehud Olmert, whereby the Arab neighborhoods would be turned over to a Palestinian state.
