In a joint press conference with PM Berlusconi of Italy today, PM Netanyahu said,
[..] I also had the opportunity to discuss a wide range of regional and international subjects with Prime Minister Berlusconi. We talked about Iran’s continued pursuit of nuclear weapons and we agreed that such weapons in the hands of Iran pose not merely a threat to Israel, but a threat to peace in our region and to the peace of the world.
Now there is today a great battle throughout the Middle East and North Africa between medievalism and modernity; between tyranny and freedom – and it’s not clear how this contest will be decided. [..]
I use this opportunity to thank you once again for your clear and consistent position against Iran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons and I also want to thank you, as I did in our meeting, for your clear position against the attempt to bypass peace negotiations.
Peace will only come from negotiations. It will be a negotiated peace. It cannot be imposed from the outside – not by any power and certainly not by one-sided UN resolutions. Peace requires negotiations. It requires mutual compromise. Palestinians compromise; Israel compromises; we both compromise. We’re prepared to do so, but to do that, you need a negotiation. But a UN fiat, a UN declaration that is one-sided, would do several things. First it would violate the agreements between the Palestinians and Israel, but it would also harden the Palestinian positions, because if the UN General Assembly adopts the Palestinian positions in advance of negotiations, why should they negotiate? So such a resolution, if backed by an overwhelming majority including the leading countries of the world, that could actually push peace back by hardening Palestinian positions, by pushing negotiations further away.
So I think anyone who is interested in advancing peace will opt for direct negotiations and will oppose the attempt to impose a peace from the outside.
We also discussed the unfolding events throughout the Middle East, and I mentioned the fact that you, Silvio, you had talked about the Marshall Plan for the Palestinians, and we are engaged all the time in trying to help their economy. It’s doing very well actually because of the lifting of roadblocks and the facilitation of free movements of goods and people, something that my government has done consistently. But I’d like to suggest that your idea, the Marshall Plan, be expanded to include those countries throughout the region that are struggling to establish real democracies because I think such economic and trade assistance can help strengthen security and development and stability and that would strengthen the forces of moderation and progress throughout the region.
So let me thank you for all these clear positions and your clear support and especially let me thank you for this warmest of welcomes you have shown me and my ministers. I look forward to working with you to advance peace and security and prosperity in the region but also the prosperity between our two countries. We have so much good will, so much talent and brilliance within our two peoples, and the sum of the parts will be much bigger. So on behalf of the people of Israel and the State of Israel, I want to thank you again for your unwavering support for the State of Israel and the Jewish people.
We have no better friend. Thank you, Silvio.
