Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said the Palestinian Authority continues to evade direct talks with Israel despite his efforts to engage in discussions as soon as possible, even as early as next week.
 

Speaking before the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Monday, Netanyahu accused the P.A. of purposely stalling until the Arab League meeting in Cairo this week rules on the matter.
 

 “If there was any doubt before that they were trying to avoid direct talks, now it is patently clear,” complained Netanyahu. “From our perspective, however, we are ready to go to direct talks as early as next week.”
 

Direct talks are the only way to ensure Israel’s security interests even though they mean painful concessions, but it appears the P.A. is determined to sabotage attempts to upgrade the ongoing proximity talks to direct negotiations he said.
 

He argued that while the Palestinians claim they are interested in moving peace talks forward, they in fact were using every excuse to delay any progress, saying that first "they said it was the [settlement] freeze, now it's the borders issue."
 

Future security arrangements can be "reached with the Palestinians and must be able to withstand any changes in the political and security Middle East map," Netanyahu said.
 

"We won't compromise security," the premier said, "and that's why the U.S. administration has been notified of our security needs."
 

In recent days Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said on a number of occasions that he refuses to engage in direct negotiations with Israel until he receives firm assurances concerning the borders of a future Palestinian state, and guarantees that Israel will impose a construction freeze on settlements.