Peres urges two-state solution

RAMAT NEGEV, Israel, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- Israeli President Shimon Peres Monday urged his government to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by creating separate states.

"The painful solution of dividing the land, two states for two peoples, was something (Israel's first prime minister) David Ben-Gurion took on himself, and today it is accepted by the majority of the nation," Peres said at a ceremony marking the 36th anniversary of Ben-Gurion's death.

Peace between Israel and the Palestinians was just a "step away," Peres said, urging Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's government to end the conflict during its time in office.

Peres and Netanyahu, who also attended the service, both addressed the recent refusal of some Israeli soldiers to evacuate Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Haaretz reported.

"We will fight refusal of orders with every power and means we have," Netanyahu said. "This is in our souls and it is the essence of our existence."