Arab nation, not leaders, are obstacles to peace, says Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that it is not Arab leaders who are an obstacle to reaching peace with Israel, but Arab populations, Arabs48.com reported.

His remark came during a Knesset meeting that marked the 40th anniversary of the visit of the late Egyptian President Anwar Al-Sadat to Israel.

Netanyahu said that for peace to happen there needs to be “a new Sadat”.

He claimed that Arab nations had been brainwashed and were fed a “stereotypical image of Israel”.

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The Israeli prime minister continued: “Even after tens of years, like geological layers, it is difficult to replace that image with a real one about Israel.”

Netanyahu said that for peace to be realised it is important to penetrate Arab populations otherwise peace would remain “cold”. However, he said: “Cold peace is better than warm war.”

Netanyahu also said that he has seen the start of change in Arab public opinion, noting that he was not speaking about the leaders of the Arab countries.