Israel Says It's "Ready For a Two State Solution"

If it's true, this is big news.

In an interview with The Telegraph released Friday morning, Israel's intelligence and strategic affairs minister Yuval Steinitz talked about what concessions Israel would be willing to make.

"We are ready for a two states for [a] two people solution," Steinitz said, acknowledging that "Israel will probably have to make very serious territorial concessions."

But Steinitz said that Israel will only make these concessions under three conditions: First, he said Palestinians must recognize Israel’s right to exist, and its status as a Jewish state. Second, he said that Palestinian refugees from the Israeli war of 1948 would have to abandon the "right of return" to their homes. And third, Palestinians must convince Israelis that any agreement would result in a "genuine, enduring peace and real security."

The comments come in anticipation of the renewed peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. The Telegraph reports that Tzipi Livni, the chief negotiator for Israel, will meet with Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat in Washington on Tuesday.

Israel has also decided to "not to interfere" in Syria, and Steinitz had some hard-hitting words for the countries that have decided to get involved:

The picture is very clear. The West sided with the opposition from the beginning and said ‘Assad must go’. Iran and Russia sided with Assad from the beginning. But Assad got very real tangible military support from Iran and Russia - and the opposition got only virtual military support from the West. He got weapons and they got words. I want to leave it to the Western countries to decide. But I think, generally speaking, if you side with somebody, probably people expect that it will be meaningful.

You can watch the full interview here: