JAKARTA - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday he should be in touch with Benjamin Netanyahu, the former Israeli prime minister who was re-elected this month, although he believes Netanyahu is not interested in making peace.
"I have known Netanyahu for a long time, since the 1990s. He is a person who does not believe in peace, but I have no other choice but to deal with him," President Abbas told Palestine Television.
The Palestinian leader, whose authority has limited control in Israel's occupied West Bank, said there should be a peaceful resolution to the conflict for decades.
The interview, also broadcast by Egyptian television, was recorded on Friday.
"I have a problem with Israel, Israel occupies my land and my country. Who is the prime minister? Netanyahu. I was forced to deal with him," said President Abbas.
Netanyahu, who in his previous term established normalization with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, said on Sunday he sought to reach a peace agreement with other Arab countries, something that could ultimately help end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"I'm not saying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but I don't think this is an early stage that will also bring that result," Netanyahu said.
It is known that Israel's peace negotiations with Palestinians sponsored by the United States have stalled since 2014.
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