Lieberman. Next foreign minister
Photo: AFP
Aboul Gheit. Concerned for peace
Photo: AFP
Egypt: Rightist gov't in Israel may damage peace talks
Mere hours after coalition agreement signed between Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu and Netanyahu's Likud, Egyptian foreign minister expresses concern over Israel's future government
As Israel
and Hamas leaders
are discussing the fate of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit in
Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Aboul Gheit expressed concern over the establishment of an "extreme right" government in Israel.
Aboul Gheit, in Brussels for a Euro-Mediterranean Partnership meeting, made these statements after a coalition agreement was signed between Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu, making Avigdor Lieberman Israel's next foreign minister.
According to the Egyptian minister, "We are standing before a negative factor that is likely to damage the peace process."
Aboul Gheit refrained from making any direct references to Lieberman, but said that "if the members of the future government act in accordance with the declarations made in recent years, we will be faced with serious hardships and extreme circumstances."
Following the coalition deal being signed with Yisrael Beiteinu, Aboul Gheit recommended "to take determined action against anyone interested in the continuation of the settlements (in the West Bank) and in undermining the concept of the two-state solution."
He beckoned his colleagues, "You must shout: 'Stop!' Otherwise, the foundations that were built will be destroyed and the conflict will continue for ages."
About a month ago, Avigdor Lieberman strained Egyptian-Israeli relations when he said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak could "go to hell" if he remained unwilling to visit Israel. When the Israeli leadership issued an apology to the Egyptian leader in a bid to maintain good terms with Cairo, the Yisrael Beitenu chairman compared the subsequent apologetic behavior of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Shimon Peres to that of a battered wife.
