Israel's Netanyahu promises new peace talks with Palestinians

TEL AVIV, March 25 (RIA Novosti) - Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Wednesday to renew peace talks with the Palestinians once his government is formed.

Netanyahu, whose right-wing Likud party reached an agreement on Tuesday with the center-left Labor Party to form a coalition, has until April 3 to form his government.

"Peace... is a common and enduring goal for all Israelis and all Israeli governments, mine included. This means I will negotiate with the Palestinian Authority for peace," he told Arab and Israeli business people at a conference in Jerusalem.

"I think the Palestinians should understand that they have in our government a partner for peace, for security, and for rapid economic development of the Palestinian economy," he added.

Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party had earlier signed coalition deals with the ultra-Orthodox Jewish Shas Party and the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, led by Avigdor Lieberman.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has refused to bring her Kadima Party into a coalition with Likud, over Netanyahu's refusal so far to commit to U.S.-backed negotiations on establishing a Palestinian state. Livni had also demanded a power-sharing deal.

The tentative coalition deal with Labor avoided the need to form a strongly right-wing government with Lieberman, which would set the scene for difficult peace talks.

Lieberman has in the past sparked controversy, saying Israeli Arabs should be forced to pass a loyalty test or lose their citizenship, and calling for the annexation of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. However, last month Lieberman said he supported the establishment of a Palestinian state rejecting the "far right" label commonly applied to him.