Bibi Tells Arab TV He Is Ready for Talks Anywhere

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with a pan-Arab television station that he is ready to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks immediately.

The talks can be in Jerusalem or even Ramallah, Netanyahu told the Al-Arabiya Arabic-language television station, which is Saudi owned and is based in Dubai.

“I’m prepared to negotiate with President [Mahmoud] Abbas directly for peace between our two peoples right now. We can do it here in my home in Jerusalem, we can do it in Ramallah [in the West Bank], we can do it anywhere,” Netanyahu said Wednesday.

Netanyahu blamed the Palestinians for not being willing to restart peace talks. The Palestinians say they will not return to the negotiating table until Israel halts all construction in the West Bank. Israel is calling on the Palestinians to recognize the country as a Jewish State.

Also in the interview, Netanyahu said he was “concerned” about the current uprising in Syria.

“We don’t intervene with what happens in Syria, but it does not mean we are not concerned,” Netanyahu said.

“We would like the peace and quiet on the Israeli-Syrian border to be maintained,” Netanyahu said. “I’d like to have that ultimately turned into a formal peace between Israel and Syria.”

He admitted that he has held secret peace negotiations with Damascus.