Netanyahu Requests Help from Foreign Ambassadors to Meet Mahmoud Abbas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed foreign ambassadors in Tel Aviv, stating, "Help me to meet with the leadership of the Palestinian Authority." According to the Jerusalem Post, Netanyahu said on Thursday, May 12, that he is "ready to meet with Mahmoud Abbas today." He added that "Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) can come to my home in Jerusalem today, or I can go to Ramallah (in the West Bank) or anywhere else he wants." Netanyahu emphasized that "we have stated that we accept the existence of a Palestinian state." The meeting with foreign ambassadors coincided with Israel's Independence Day celebrations. The last round of actual political talks between Israel and the Palestinians occurred during Ehud Olmert's premiership in the fall of 2005. Netanyahu's government has set conditions for Palestinian statehood that have been rejected by the Palestinians. In the absence of a prospect for renewed peace negotiations, Palestinians have turned to the United Nations and global institutions to realize their aspiration for an independent state. Moreover, violence has escalated between the parties, with over 210 Palestinians and 28 Israelis killed in the last seven months; street violence has mostly begun with knife attacks by Palestinians, and Israeli forces have shot the attackers on the spot. Despite Netanyahu's "readiness" to meet with the Palestinian leadership, another senior Israeli official stated that they "reject" the French political initiative to resume peace talks with the Palestinians. Dori Gold, Director General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said in an interview with the Jerusalem Post on Friday, May 13, that even if the Palestinians accept Netanyahu's precondition for recognizing Israel as a "home for the Jews," Israel will reject the French political initiative. French President Francois Hollande had proposed his political initiative months ago, which was welcomed by Palestinian leadership but rejected by Israel. France had planned to host a conference for Israeli-Palestinian peace in late spring 2016. Recently, U.S. President Barack Obama stated that in the remaining months of his administration, "there is no opportunity to advance peace talks as this conflict has lasted for decades." Meanwhile, on Thursday, as Israel celebrated its 68th Independence Day, thousands of Palestinians marched in cities within the 1948 borders, demanding the right to return to their ancestral homes. Protesters held keys to their old homes in their hands or around their necks, emphasizing the "right of return." Palestinians refer to Israel's independence as "Yom Nakba" (Arabic: "Day of Catastrophe"). At the same time, on Israel's Independence Day and in response to online questions from around the world, especially from Arab countries, Netanyahu told other Jews worldwide who have not yet immigrated to Israel, "Israel is your homeland; come to live here."