Panetta: Israel must 'get to the damn table'

[Jefferson23]

US defense secretary urges Israel to resume negotiations with Palestinians and mend ties with regional powers.

Last Modified: 03 Dec 2011 13:00

Leon Panetta, US defence secretary, has urged Israel to go back to the negotiating table with Palestinians and to address what he described as the country's growing isolation in the Middle East.

In remarks made at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Friday, Panetta said: "The problem right now is we can’t get them to the damn table to at least sit down and begin to discuss their differences.

"We understand the concerns of Israel, we understand the concerns of the Palestinians.

"If they sit at a table and work through those concerns and the United States can be of assistance in that process, then I think you have the beginning of what could be a process that could lead to a peace agreement.

"But if they aren’t there, if they aren’t at the table, this will never happen. So first and foremost get to the damn table."

in full: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/12/20111231539907422.html