Palestine FM slams Israel premier for ‘hindering peace’

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of hindering US and international efforts to revive stalled peace talks.

“Netanyahu continues to put the cart in front of the horse by setting impossible conditions that impede the launch of a genuine peace process,” the ministry said in a statement.

The assertion came in response to remarks made by Netanyahu on Monday, in which he said Israel must be given full security control over the West Bank “in any future agreement” with the Palestinians.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry responded by blasting Netanyahu for issuing what it described as his “contradictory positions”.

“He calls for continued Israeli security control over the West Bank and recognition of a so-called ‘Jewish state’ while at the same time voicing a desire for a ‘genuine peace process’,” the ministry said.

Speaking at a ceremony commemorating the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Netanyahu insisted that Israel — with or without a peace agreement — intended to maintain security control “over the entire territory west of the Jordan River”.

International law views the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as “occupied territory”.

The Palestinians, for their part, want these areas — along with the Gaza Strip — for a future Palestinian state.

Roughly 500,000 Israelis currently live on more than 100 Jewish-only settlements built in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since Israel occupied the territories in 1967.