Israel PM tweets for peace with Palestine

Micro-blogging site Twitter may yet serve as an avenue for peace between Israel and Palestine, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used it to extend an olive branch to Palestinian officials. Netanyahu's tweet followed several attempts to get to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is seeking full United Nations recognition of a Palestinian state.

"We're in the same city, in the same building, Let's meet here today. I extend my hand in peace," he said in his tweet. "I continue to hope that President Abbas will be my partner for peace. Let's get on with it and negotiate #peace. #back2talks," he added. The time stamps on the tweets indicated they were made before dawn Saturday (in Manila). Peace talks between the two sides had broken down last year. But he also said the Palestinians must first reach peace with Israel. "The Palestinians must first reach #peace with Israel and then get their state. Then Israel will be the 1st to recognize them. #back2talks," he said. Last Monday, Netanyahu appealed for direct peace negotiations with Abbas, to be started in New York and continued in Jerusalem and Ramallah. — TJD, GMA News