Israeli PM: Palestinians' bid for statehood through U.N. will fail

UNITED NATIONS — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that direct negotiation was the only way to achieve a stable Middle East peace and the Palestinian effort to secure U.N. recognition of statehood "will not succeed."

Netanyahu made the remarks at a meeting with President Barack Obama, who reiterated the unwavering U.S. commitment to Israel and told world leaders gathered at the U.N. General Assembly that efforts to impose peace on Israel and the Palestinians would not work.

Obama and Netanyahu spoke at the start of a meeting the two leaders had on the sidelines of the U.N. session.

Seeking to head off a looming showdown over Palestinian statehood and pull his Middle East policy back from the brink of diplomatic disaster, Obama told the U.N. General Assembly, "There is no shortcut to the end of a conflict that has endured for decades."

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