Livni: World faces moment of truth over Iran issue

(VIDEO) In UN address, foreign minister urges world leaders to take action against Tehran. 'There is no place for such a regime in the family of nations,' she states. Livni also says Israel determined to bring back kidnapped soldiers, proclaims PA must renounce terror before peace negotiations resume

Reuters | Published: 09.21.06, 03:11

VIDEO - In an address to the United Nations General Assembly Thursday, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni urged world leaders to take action against the "dark and growing danger" posed by Tehran, saying that "there is no greater challenge to our values than that posed by the leaders of Iran."

Tzipi Livni at UN (Video: Reuters) (רויטרס)

"They deny and mock the Holocaust. They speak proudly and openly of their desire to wipe Israel off the map. And now, by their actions, they pursue the weapons to achieve this objective, to imperil the region and to threaten the world," Livni stated.

"We know the lessons of the past. We know the consequences of appeasement and indifference. There is no place for such leaders in this forum. There is no place for such a regime in the family of nations," she added.

David or Goliath?

Referring to the Arab-Israeli conflict, the foreign minister said that "to many, this conflict is portrayed as a clash of David and Goliath, with Israel perceived unjustly as Goliath."

According to Livni, this "simplistic image" ignores the fact that Israel remains a threatened democracy in a hostile region. "We face an enemy willing to use all the means at its disposal, to kill without restraint and without distinction," she said.

"To protect its integrity, the international community must uphold this basic moral distinction. Terror is terror - even when it's called resistance. It cannot be justified and it cannot be equated with the actions of those seeking only to defend themselves against it," Livni proclaimed.

The foreign minister stressed in her speech that Israel was determined to bring back the kidnapped soldiers home: "Israel will not rest until all the Israeli hostages are returned safely to the arms of their devoted families and the embrace of a loving nation. Let us all make them the same promise."

'PA dominated by terror organization'

Turning her attention to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, Livni said that a resolution would have to be founded on the principles of the Road Map peace plan, adding that the Palestinians would have to abide by the three conditions set by the international Quartet before negotiations can resume.

She further stated that the Palestinians would have to concede their claim for the Right of Return, and agree to the two-state solution.

"This is the real and only meaning of the two-State vision. It requires each people to accept that their rights are realized through the establishment of their own homeland, not in the homeland of others," Livni explained.

Another condition for peace talks and a resolution, the foreign minister said, was for the Palestinian Authority to renounce terror.

"Unfortunately, the Palestinian Authority is dominated today by a terrorist organization that teaches children to hate and seeks to transform the conflict from a resolvable political dispute into an endless religious confrontation," she said, and concluded that " It is a moment to demand that those Palestinian leaders that believe in peace determine the future on these terms, not on the terms of the terrorists."