Netanyahu accuses int'l community of waging anti-Israel campaign

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the international community for waging what he dubbed as an anti-Israel "diplomatic campaign" as he came before the parliament on Monday.

"We are in the midst of a diplomatic campaign in which the reality of the State of Israel and its actions are being twisted and in which many false accusations have been hurled at us," Netanyahu said, according to a statement from his office.

The prime minister said that while Israel "isn't perfect," the international community has created for his country a "special standard" that he claims is not applied toward other states in the Middle East.

"There is one standard for democracy, another for dictatorships and another for Israel. We are not perfect, there is much to fix in our country and we are doing so constantly," Netanyahu said.

Israel had been under growing diplomatic scrutiny from the international community because of its occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip territories and the continuing settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Following the fruitless peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which were ended abruptly in April last year, the Palestinian authorities have made a series of unilateral moves on multiple fronts, seeking an end to the Israeli occupation and an independent statehood.

Several European countries have recently acknowledged the right of the Palestinians for their own state.

Netanyahu's statements came several days after the international football association received a plea from the Palestinians to remove Israel from the body as a result of the occupation and the restrictions placed on Palestinian football players.

The organization announced on Friday it has set up a committee to monitor Israeli and Palestinian football after the Palestinian withdrew their plea in the last minute.

Netanyahu on Sunday said Israel "does not need to justify" its moves in the occupied territories, calling the Palestinian plea "a campaign to sully Israel's image."

Israeli officials are concerned from growing diplomatic isolation, as well as strained relations with European countries and the United States, especially after Netanyahu has formed a new right-wing government, which did not mention the peace process in its coalition agreements signed last month.

Netanyahu repeated in meetings with the EU's Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini and German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier that he is still committed to the two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Endit