Israeli PM: no guaranteed success in talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday said that prospects for success in just-embarked- upon direct negotiations with the Palestinian National Authority ( PNA) were measured and offered no guarantees.

"I say this is an attempt, because it is not certain that it will succeed," Netanyahu told viewers in Hebrew during a recorded address marking the eve of the Rosh Hashana Jewish New Year. The two-day holiday begins Wednesday evening.

"Certainly there are many obstacles, many skeptics and many reasons to doubt, but we must try to reach peace," he said in a clip appearing on the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) YouTube web page.

"We are trying in good faith, but not naivety, to reach a peace agreement. Any arrangement between us and the Palestinians will be based on two criteria: security and recognition of Israel as a Jewish state," Netanyahu said, "If we are asked to recognize a Palestinian state, it is both natural and appropriate that the Palestinians recognize the state of the Israeli people as a Jewish state."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas poured cold water on the second half of the statement in comments to the Arab press on Monday. "Israel can call itself what it likes," Abbas was quoted as saying in East Jerusalem by the Ha'aretz daily.


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