According to Israel, Palestinian Authority Chief, Mahmoud Abbas, is the “best Palestinian leader”, Zionist President Shimon Peres says.

According to Israel, Palestinian Authority Chief, Mahmoud Abbas, is the “best Palestinian leader”, Zionist President Shimon Peres says.

At a ceremony with foreign diplomats on Monday, Peres called on Abbas to turn to negotiations, saying: “I call on my friend, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who I respect and acknowledge as the best leader Israel will work with, to return to the negotiating table”.

Peres pressed that “peace” between the Israelis and the Palestinians “is possible”.
"Let's decide the facts in the Middle East reality that is changing before our eyes," he said.
He also called on both sides to adhere to the timetable the Mideast Quartet presented for renewing negotiations and reaching a peace agreement.

"There is a clear majority in both nations for the principle of two states for two peoples and now that the speeches are over, it is time for the real work on the ground," Peres said. "We must translate the declarations to reality."

A day earlier, Abbas termed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the “most inflexible leader” he had ever known, in an interview with the pan-Arab newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat.
"Benjamin Netanyahu's ideological positions do not allow him to advance forward," Abbas said.

When he was asked to rank the Israeli leaders with whom he worked, he said Netanyahu is ranked last, saying that "with Rabin, Peres, Sharon, Olmert, and Livni, negotiations were possible."