- Palestinians should not have right to veto peace deals between Israel, Arab countries: Netanyahu

By Abdel Ra'ouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that the Palestinians should not have the right to veto peace agreements between Israel and the Arab countries, according to the Hebrew media.

“More peace between Israel and Arab states would increase the prospect of making peace between Israel and Palestinians,” Netanyahu said in his speech before the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

However, that shouldn't mean giving the Palestinians "veto power" over Arab states building relationships with the Jewish state, Netanyahu added.

“The Abraham Accords heralded the dawn of a new age of peace,” Netanyahu stated, stressing that Israel “is on the cusp of an even more dramatic breakthrough, a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia.”

He affirmed that “such peace will go a long way to ending the Arab-Israeli conflict, encourage other Arab states to normalize relations with Israel, enhance the prospect of peace with Palestinians, and encourage broader reconciliation between Judaism and Islam, Jerusalem and Mecca… all these are tremendous blessings."

Peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis have stalled since April 2014 because of Tel Aviv's refusal to stop settlement building and release Palestinian detainees. They have also evaded a two-state solution.

More than 140 world leaders and representatives are taking part in this year’s General Assembly session, which began on Tuesday.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi