PM says 'peace not at any price' in New Year greeting

For the first time ever, the prime minister sent a Rosh Hashana greeting to all citizens of Israel over the internet. On his YouTube channel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu published a video on Tuesday wishing Israel a happy holiday. In his holiday greeting, he said, "There is no certainty in the success of the peace talks."

• Click here to view the prime minister's YouTube greeting in Hebrew
  

"In honor of the New Year, I would like to wish all of Israel a happy and successful year, to you and your families," Netanyahu started his address. "I hope and believe that this will be a year of new beginnings. This year we survived a global financial crisis better than most of the countries in the world and unemployment dropped to its lowest rate in years.

"However, I wish to clarify that the global financial crisis is still not behind us. Therefore, we will continue to take action with a combination of determination, caution, and responsibility, also on additional paths in order to promote our economy in the upcoming year as well."

'Diaspora Jews believe in Israel's future'

The prime minister continued, "This year, after many efforts, we jumpstarted the direct talks with the Palestinians. This is an important step in the attempt to advance a peace agreement between us and them. I say this is an attempt because there is no certainty for success. Indeed, there are a lot of obstacles. There is a lot of skepticism and a lot of reasons for skepticism. But we need to try and achieve peace."

"We are trying in good faith, but not in naiveté. We are insisting that any agreement between us and the Palestinians be based on the two principles of security and recognition of the State of Israel as the country of the Jewish people."

"Security," continued Netanyahu, "because no peace will last without strong organs of real security arrangements on the ground. On the ground and not on paper, not some vague international commitment, but real Israeli security arrangements on the ground."

Netanyahu noted that Israel being asked to recognize a Palestinian state, "and it is natural and fitting that we ask from the other side to recognize the Jewish state and the state of the people of Israel. The deep understanding and the belief in our right to live here in this country, our homeland, the country of our forefathers, this understanding is critical for dealing with the challenges of the coming year, of the challenges of the next decade and the future in general."

The prime minister mentioned the increased number of immigrants to Israel. According to him, this is testimony to the fact that "the Jews of the Diaspora believe in the State of Israel, believe in its future, and want to raise their children here."

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