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Panetta: Time for Israel to "Take Bold Action" for Peace

(U.S. Department of Defense) U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta told the Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy on Friday: "The United States is willing and capable of ensuring that Israel can safeguard its security as it takes the risks needed to pursue peace. Now is the time for Israel to take bold action and to move towards a negotiated two-state solution. I recognize that there is a view that this is not the time to pursue peace and that the Arab awakening further imperils the dream of a safe and secure, Jewish and democratic Israel. But I disagree with that view." Asked what steps Israel should take, Panetta replied, "Just get to the damn table. Just get to the table. The problem right now is we can't get them to the damn table to at least sit down and begin to discuss their differences....If they sit at a table and work through those concerns, and the United States can be of assistance in that process, then I think you have the beginning of what could be a process that would lead to a peace agreement. But if they aren't there - if they aren't at the table, this will never happen."
2011-12-05 00:00:00
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