Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu metThursday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. The meeting followed a stop in London, where Netanyahu met with British Premier David Cameron.
In a press conference held after the meeting, Netanyahu told reporters that peace between Israel and the Palestinians can be achieved only through negotiations, and not via dictation.
"The serious pursuit of peace can only be achieved through negotiations – peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, not as a result of UN dictations," Netanyahu said.
As for the possibility that the Palestinian Authority's bid for statehood in the UN would prove successful, Netanyahu said that the real question was whether the Palestinians would enjoy an automatic majority among UN member states.
According to the prime minister, the French president agreed to his demand that Israel must be recognized by the Palestinians as the Jewish homeland.
Netanyahu told reporters Sarkozy essentially echoed the sentiment expressed by Cameron, stating that the Palestinians would be made to recognize Israel as a condition for peace.
"Both Paris and London understand that those who want peace, must be committed to peace," Netanyahu said.
The prime minister stressed that the recognition of Israel as the Jewish state is one of the crucial points in the stalled peace process: "The heart of the conflict has always been the persistent refusal of the Palestinian leadership to recognize the Jewish state within any borders.
"We are prepared to recognize a Palestinian state, so why can't they return the favor if they want peace?" he said.
Netanyahu added that unfortunately, he sees no change in the Hamas' positiontoward Israel, despite its recent reconciliation withFatah.
“Hamas has not abandoned the goal of destroying Israel. They are not a partner for peace."