JERUSALEM (AP) — Benjamin Netanyahu, taking office as Israel’s new leader Tuesday, promised to seek “full peace” with the Arab and Muslim world, but refused to utter the words the world was waiting to hear: “Palestinian state.” The well-spoken, U.S.-educated hawk took pains to portray himself as a pragmatist, telling a packed parliament that Israel does not want to rule the Palestinians. “Under the permanent status agreement, the Palestinians will have all the authority to rule themselves,” Netanyahu said in comments that appeared to hark back to a decades-old notion that peace could be achieved through limited Palestinian autonomy.–Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at [email protected]
Netanyahu: Israel seeks ‘full peace’ with Arabs
By The Associated Press
March 30, 2009