Israel wants a real peace agreement with the Palestinians which will ensure Israeli security, and will not be satisfied with "papers and promises", Premier Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday night, ahead of the start of direct negotiations between the sides, dpa reported.
"We will not allow the firing of thousands of rockets and missiles from Palestinian territories into Israel as was the case when we pulled out of Lebanon and Gaza," he told members of his Likud Party at a traditional toast to mark the Jewish new year, which falls next week.
"That is not peace? We want real agreements on the ground that ensure the security of Israel and its citizens," Netanyahu said.
The prime minister is slated to leave Tuesday for Washington, to attend a summit kicking off the long-delayed direct talks, the first face-to-face negotiations between the sides in more than a year.
According to the Ha'aretz daily, he told the Likud members that "real peace lasts for generations," citing as an example the peace agreement Israel and Egypt signed in 1979.
He said peace was an attainable goal, but noted that it was not entirely up to Israel alone.
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