Israeli President Shimon Peres at the weekend tried to assure a skeptical American administration and mainstream media that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is no longer a conservative, right-wing ideologue.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Peres said that Netanyahu "came from the right, but he's no longer a rightist."

As evidence, Peres pointed out that Netanyahu had finally come around to accepting the creation of a Palestinian state, and that, unlike his predecessors, had actually implemented a sweeping settlement freeze in partial compliance with Arab demands.

Peres said he feels Netanyahu is unfairly portrayed as a hard-liner and an extremist by the international media.