Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed optimism that upcoming direct talks with the Palestinians could achieve a "stable" peace accord, Haaretz daily reported Sunday.
The report cited Netanyahu as making the remark to his cabinet as he was getting ready to fly to Washington for this week's relaunching of the direct Israeli-Palestinian talks after a break of two years, dpa reported.
"I am convinced that if the Palestinian leadership takes the negotiations as seriously as we do, we can reach a stable agreement - not just a deal for a tactical ceasefire between wars," Netanyahu told the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Haaretz reported.
"We can reach a peace based on stability for us and for our children and that is my goal," he said.
But he showed little readiness to accept a key Palestinian demand for the course of the direct talks, that Israel extend beyond September 26 the current freeze on building new settlements in the West Bank. The Palestinians have warned that the talks would be immediately broken off if Israel began construction again.
Ahead of the cabinet meeting, Netanyahu rejected a suggestion by Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor for restarting construction only in those major settlements near the Green Line which in any event were expected to become part of Israel in a future deal.
"Meridor's comments represent his personal position and not that of the government," Netanyahu was reported by Army Radio as saying.