Israel's PM says time has come for peace

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JERUSALEM, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- The time has come for Palestinians to recognize the Jewish state, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Monday.

U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to the region next month will be "a good opportunity to enter unhindered [peace] negotiations," Ynetnews.com and The Jerusalem Post quoted Netanyahu as saying at a meeting of the Jewish Agency's board of governors.

"We need peace based on mutual recognition. The time has come for he Palestinians to recognize the Jewish state. ... The Palestinians also need to make concessions, not just Israel. I am not stating conditions to the talks ... ," he said.

Referring to nuclear-weapon concerns, Netanyahu said sanctions will not stop the Iranian nuclear program, and he cited cited North Korea as an example of the failure of sanctions.

Sanctions "need to be coupled with a robust, credible military threat; only then will we have a chance to stop it," Netanyahu said.

The prime minister said Iran "does not conceal its desire to destroy the Jewish state and also to threaten the rest of the world."