Netanyahu to Abbas: 'Recognize the Jewish state'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is calling on Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to recognize Israel as a Jewish state to prove that he is truly prepared to end the conflict between the two sides.           

Speaking Tuesday in Washington, Netanyahu issued a message to Abbas that he needs to recognize the Jewish state with "no excuses, no delays."    
       
Netanyahu said he hopes a peace deal can be reached, but that if one is achieved, it will almost certainly come under attack by Hezbollah, Hamas, al-Qaeda and other militant groups.            

He said that while international peacekeepers can help ensure Israel's security going forward  only the Israeli army can defend its homeland.
 
On another note, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu urged world powers not to allow Iran to retain the ability to enrich uranium, saying it must be stripped of all nuclear technologies with bomb-making potential.
   
"Unfortunately the leading powers of the world are talking about leaving Iran with the capability to enrich uranium. I hope they don't do that, because that would be a grave error. It would leave Iran as a threshold nuclear power," he told the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC in Washington.
   
He called for international diplomatic pressure on Tehran to be ramped up and, alluding to unilateral military action against Iran, said he would do whatever he must to defend Israel.

 
REUTERS/AP