Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday called on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to agree to return to the negotiating table without preconditions. “Since he doesn’t speak Hebrew, and my Arabic isn’t great, I will turn to him in a language we both understand,” Netanyahu said at a special Knesset session dedicated to the Israeli-Arab conflict. “I say: Give peace a chance.”

The prime minister said that he was ready to resume negotiations with the Palestinians at any time and was ready to make sacrifices to arrive at an agreement. “Don’t miss this opportunity,” he added, lamenting that during the last four years, he and Abbas had only spoken for a total of “a few hours.” Netanyahu reiterated that a successful outcome to peace talks would be possible if Israel’s security was guaranteed and if the Palestinians recognized Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people.