Peace treaty must rest on security of Israel: Netanyahu

Any peace treaty with the Palestinians must be based on Israel's ability to defend itself and not on mere "good will", hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today hours before the arrival of US Secretary of State John Kerry to push for peace talks.
"Peace rests on security. It is not based on good will or legitimacy as some think. It is based, first and foremost, on our ability to defend ourselves," he said at a ceremony to mark the 109th anniversary of the death of Theodor Herzl, the founding father of Zionism.
The Likud party leader's remarks came as US Secretary of State is due to arrive in Jerusalem later today for a fifth round of talks in his ongoing effort to restart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations which collapsed in 2010 over the issue of Israel's settlement policy.

Netanyahu cautioned his countrymen not to be "fool" and believe that a peace agreement with the Palestinians would put to halt "defamation" of Israel.
"Israel wants peace and doesn't want a bi-national state, but let's not fool ourselves into believing that if we reach an agreement with the Palestinians it will eliminate the unbridled defamation against the Jewish state," he said.
Left-leaning Israeli daily Ha'aretz today reported that a senior cabinet minister from Netanyahu's party has said that the Israeli leader would be willing to withdraw from most of the West Bank and evacuate numerous settlements as part of an agreement with the Palestinians, as long as his security demands were satisfied.

The senior minister was quoted as saying that Netanyahu knows very well that if negotiations with the Palestinians resume under Kerry's leadership, he will have to hold serious discussions on the borders of a Palestinian state.

"Netanyahu understands that for a peace agreement, it will be necessary to withdraw from more than 90 per cent of the West Bank and evacuate more than a few settlements," he said.
The minister also said the issue of security arrangements is Netanyahu's main concern, and this will be his main demand in the negotiations.
"If his security demands are met, he is prepared to make significant territorial concessions," the minister said.

Elaborating on the security needs he said that Netanyahu wants the future Palestinian state to be demilitarised, and he also wants the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) to be able to maintain a long-term presence along the Jordan River, even if Israel cedes sovereignty there.