Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Iran's quest for nuclear weapons poses a great danger to the world.
In a speech Thursday before the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Mr. Netanyahu said the "greatest threat facing the world today is the marriage between religious fanaticism and weapons of mass destruction."
The Israeli leader said Iran's "fanatic" regime should not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons and asked if the U.N. was up to the task.
Mr. Netanyahu also challenged remarks by Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, that the Holocaust is a "myth." The Israeli prime minister showed documents from a 1942 meeting involving senior Nazi officials who called at the time for the extermination of the Jews.
Prime Minister Netanyahu also said Israel is truly prepared to make peace with the Palestinians, but that it must be a "genuine peace."
He said just as Israel is asked to recognize a nation-state of Palestinian people, the Palestinians must be asked to recognize a nation-state of Jewish people.
Mr. Netanyahu said Israel asks Palestinian leaders to do what he said they have refused to do since Israel was formed in 1947 -- "say yes to a Jewish state."
The Israeli prime minister also denounced a recent U.N. report that accused Israel of committing war crimes during its military offensive against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
On Iran, Mr. Netanyahu praised those who walked out or refused to appear for Mr. Ahmadinejad's speech before the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday. He said those who stayed "have no shame, no decency."
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
