Benjamin Netanyahu, taking office as Israel's new leader late Tuesday, vowed to seek "full peace" with the Arab and Islamic world. He told 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, without mentioning the term "Palestinian state."
His words drew a sharp reaction from Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. "I want to say to Mr. Netanyahu that the only way the Palestinians can rule themselves, by themselves, is through ending the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 and establishing an independent Palestinian state," Erekat said, according to the AP.
In his speech before parliament Tuesday, Netanyahu praised Islamic culture as "great and rich," and said Israel and moderate Arab states could find common ground fighting radical Islam and what he called the extremist regime in Tehran. "Israel has always, and today more than ever, striven to reach full peace with the entire Arab and Muslim world," he said.
A senior Netanyahu aide appeared to suggest his boss would accept the much hailed two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the next few weeks, perhaps ahead of a planned trip to the United States. The aide said Netanyahu will say something that will "take this issue off the table" and avoid confrontation with the world.
Netanyahu's 30 ministers were sworn in at a special session late Tuesday after parliament approved the new government by a 69-45 vote.
In his speech, Netanyahu singled out Iran as Israel's biggest threat and urged the world to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. "The greatest danger to humanity, and to our country Israel, stems from the possibility of a radical regime arming itself with nuclear weapons," he said. "We shall not allow anybody or any country to put any question mark over our existence."
Netanyahu warned that "radical Islam is trying to eradicate us" and noted that Israel is battling militant Islamic groups on both its northern and southern borders.
