Monday, September 19, 2011

Netanyahu urges Abbas to resume direct talks in New York

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to resume direct negotiations with Israel in lieu of his unilateral statehood bid, set to be presented to the UN General Assembly on Friday.

Netanyahu - who is scheduled to fly to the US Tuesday evening - said that he would like to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in New York:
"I call on the chairman of the Palestinian Authority to launch direct negotiations in New York and continue them in Jerusalem and Ramallah,I am offering President Abbas the chance to launch peace negotiations instead of wasting time on futile unilateral steps."