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Netanyahu pledged to insist on Israel’s security needs above all – saying his main guiding principles will be to maintain a Jewish majority in Israel and avoid a future Palestinian state in the West Bank becoming an Iranian-backed “terror state.”

A lifelong hawk, Netanyahu has been a reluctant latecomer to the idea of Palestinian statehood, and his critics say he uses the pretext of security to avoid engaging in good-faith negotiations.

“It won’t be easy. But we are entering the talks with integrity, honesty, and hope that this process is handled responsibly, seriously and to the point,” he said at the start of his weekly Cabinet meeting.

Palestinian officials were silent Sunday.

Associated Press

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John Baird’s office says he placed phone calls on Sunday to his counterpart in the Palestinian Authority, Riyad al-Malki, and Israel’s chief negotiator with the Palestinians, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni.

He commended both countries for agreeing to meet in Washington in the coming days and weeks.

“Negotiations will take strength, courage and compromise but in the end, peace is worth traveling this difficult road,” Baird tweeted Sunday afternoon after speaking to both sides.

“Pleased to hear progress is being made between Israel and the Palestinians. Canada strongly believes in a two-state solution,” he added.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Friday that the two sides had reached an agreement that establishes a basis for resuming negotiations, but cautioned the details are still being worked out.

A government official says Baird told Livni on Sunday that Israel would have to make hard compromises and that the pressure would be on the Israelis going forward.

The official says Baird’s message to Malki was that this is an opportunity that shouldn’t be allowed to slip away.

On Sunday, Palestinian officials made it clear there is no clear path to a resumption of talks.

They said their key demand remains: Ahead of any talks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must accept Israel’s pre-1967 frontier as the starting point for drawing the border of a future state of Palestine.

Palestinian sources also indicated that a resumption of talks is not a done deal, saying negotiators for the two nations would have to hold more talks about starting negotiations.

Netanyahu’s right-wing allies were adamant that Israel would not budge on the issue of 1967 borders, and Netanyahu appeared to be trying to lower expectations about any future negotiations.