Middle East peace talks collapsed earlier this year because the Palestinians wanted them to end, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alleged Sunday.
Addressing a Washington think-tank in a recorded address, Netanyahu said the "talks ended because the Palestinians wanted them to end".
Palestinian leaders "are simply not prepared... to confront violence" perpetrated by their own people, Netanyahu told the Saban Forum, organised by the Brookings Institution.
And he warned there could be no peace deal with the Palestinians which did not recognise "a long-term" presence for the Israeli army forces in the region.
After calling snap elections for March, Netanyahu said he hoped to emerge with a "broad and renewed mandate" for a government capable of protecting "the Jewish state in these tumultuous times."
Speaking after the Israeli leader, US Secretary of State John Kerry, who led the prolonged effort to reach a peace deal, vowed: "I won't give up."
Kerry's dogged peace pursuit collapsed in April amid bitter recriminations on both sides.
Share
