Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today his government would condition talks over Palestinian statehood on the Palestinians first recognising Israel as a Jewish state.
"Israel expects the Palestinians to first recognise Israel as a Jewish state before talking about two states for two peoples," an official in Mr Netanyahu's office quoted the new prime minister as telling George Mitchell, US President Barack Obama's special envoy.
Elsewhere, an Israeli air strike destroyed a house in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip today, the first such attack on the Palestinian enclave in over a month, the Israeli army said. No one was injured in the blast.
Hamas officials said the house, located near the border fence with Israel, was empty at the time.
Reuters
