PM backs Arab Peace Initiative, with caveats

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Arab Peace Initiative suits Israel’s interests in principle, though the proposal’s details require tweaking.

Speaking to Israeli diplomatic reporters in Tel Aviv, the prime minister says the framework is outdated and contains many issues that every Israeli would object to, such as an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights and right of return for Palestinian refugees.

However, as a general outline for a future peace accord, it is not objectionable to Israel, he says.

The prime minister reiterates that he does not want a binational state and supports the two-state solution. He says that before the election, in the interview where he said no Palestinian state would be established on his watch, he was asked about the likelihood of the event, not his position on it.

Addressing domestic issues, Netanyahu says he is not seeking to control or silence the media, as charged. He says that as acting communications minister he wants to create greater competition and maintains it’s his prerogative as prime minister to focus personally on certain issues.

He also vows he won’t harm the justice system, and says criticism in this regard — primarily centered around the appointment of the Jewish Home party’s Ayelet Shaked as justice minister — is unfounded. During his six-year term, the Supreme Court’s power hasn’t been compromised, he says, and so it will remain.

— Raphael Ahren contributed.