No immediate way forward for ME peace

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on a visit to Washington, on Tuesday voiced pessimism about the prospect of peace with the Palestinians, suggesting the current stalemate was likely to remain in place.

A peace process to end nearly 70 years of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has stalled for more than a year, when the latest US attempt at mediation failed.

"Any deal, or any arrangement, unilateral or negotiated, must have Israel maintain the ability to defend itself by itself against threat, including from territories that are ceded," Netanyahu said.

"That's the most important provision," he added. "That is something that I don't see the Palestinians accepting now."

The Israeli leader, known to be aligned with Republicans in Congress, was speaking at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in the US capital.

His comments came amid growing violence that has raised fears over the potential for a new Palestinian uprising.

The unrest has seen 10 Israelis and at least 77 people on the Palestinian side -- one of them an Israeli Arab -- killed since October 1.

Netanyahu said that his settlement freeze "didn't help" in restarting peace talks, adding that Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas "didn't come to the table."