国际英语新闻：Israeli PM threatens unilateral moves as Palestinians seek UN recognition of statehood

JERUSALEM, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned that his country would respond with its own unilateral moves to any unilateral steps by the Palestinians, reported local daily Ha'aretz.

    Speaking at a peace forum in Jerusalem, Netanyahu issued the warning in his first public response to a bid of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to request the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

    "There is no substitute for negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian (National) Authority and any unilateral path will only unravel the framework of agreements between us and will only bring unilateral steps from Israel's side," Netanyahu was quoted as saying.

    Israel wants negotiations toward a full peace accord, and the path to peace in the Middle East is at the negotiating table, stressed Netanyahu, while calling for an immediate resumption of the stalled peace process in good faith.

    Noting that the process would not be easy, he added that negotiations would have to cover sensitive issues and that both Israeli and Palestinian leaders must be brave to move forward. Should Israel and the Palestinians begin peace negotiations, "we can surprise the world," said the traditionally hawkish Israeli leader.

    Peace talks between two neighbors have broken down for over a year as Israel changed its government and launched a large scale military operation in the Gaza Strip and as the Palestinians struggled with internal conflicts between the moderate Fatah and militant Hamas movements. The two sides have traded blames for the stalemate.

    Netanyahu attended, with former U.S. President Bill Clinton, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and a number of other senior Israeli and American officials, the Saban Forum, a dialogue platform initiated by Israeli-American communications tycoon Haim Saban.

    In an address prior to Netanyahu's speech, Clinton urged Israelis to discard their negative feelings for current U.S. President Barack Obama, who has vowed to be personally involved in tackling the historic feud yet has also caused concerns among the Israeli public as he waves an olive branch toward moderates in the Muslim world.