TEMPO.CO, Jerusalem - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has invited Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas to deliver a speech in front of the Israeli parliament and recognize Jewish links to the land of Israel. "I call on him from here today: Let's break the deadlock," Netanyahu said in a special address to the parliament, or Knesset, in honour of a visit by French President Francois Hollande.
Netanyahu has challenged Abbas: "Come to the Israeli Knesset and I'll come to Ramallah," he said, referring to Abbas's West Bank headquarters.
This move will forge a path on the peace process between both countries. "Get up on this platform and recognise the historical truth: The Jews have a nearly 4,000-year-old link to the land of Israel. The Jews are the people with a right to self-determination," he said.
Netanyahu states the real peace is when all Palestinian claims regarding the State of Israel end, including national claims on its territory and sovereignty.
Netanyahu has been challenging Palestine to recognize Jewish state, which is rejected by Palestine. The peace negotiation brokered by the United States is in the brink of failure as Israel keeps continuing on settlement construction on the West Bank.
CHANNEL NEWS ASIA | NATALIA SANTI