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'No alternative to coalition.' Lieberman
Photo: Gil Yohanan

FM: Coalition won't change after freeze

Avigdor Lieberman says end of construction freeze in September is ' real test for country'; does not foresee changes in government. Senior source: We have no peace partner

Counting the days until the end of the freeze – Israel's governing coalition will not be changing after the end of the settlement freeze in September, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman says.

 

Lieberman, who spoke during a meeting with political correspondents in Jerusalem, added that

"The real test for the country will take place in September, upon the end of the temporary construction freeze in the settlements.

 

"However, there is no alternative to the coalition in my view. This coalition won't be changing," he said.

 

Also in September, Turkey will become the rotating president of the Security Council, during which the General Assembly of the UN will meet to discuss the Secretary-General's interim report over the Goldstone Report, which he will submit during the second half of July.

 

"Everything is happening in September, it won't be boring over here," said a senior government source.

 

The source added that he does not see Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as a viable partner: "He does not represent Judea and Samaria, or the residents of Gaza. The presidential campaign is still taking place and as of today there are 110 streets named after Palestinian 'martyrs' – from Dalal Mughrabi to Yahya Ayyash. This whole song of praise for terror is unreasonable," he said.

 

'We have no partner'

"The wild incitement against it is an open Palestinian Authority policy," the senior source said. "It's hard for me to trust such partner – that's not a partner I would close a deal with. We need to say these things out loud, to the Americans, to the Palestinians, and to the international community."

 

Refering to the crisis with Turkey, he said: "We shouldn't be leading any campaign against Turkey. There are enough Kurds in Britain and in Germany. Turkey came out against the US in the Security Council in the decision on Iran sanctions."

 

He added: "I hate hypocrisy. Israel is being criticized over the flotilla, mostly by the Turks – but look at what's happening in the Muslim world – in Pakistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The Turks killed hundreds of Kurds. I told ministers I spoke with – how come you're all silent?"

 

Meanwhile, the senior official did not characterize Israel's diplomatic isolation as a failure.

 

"I'm not satisfied with the global situation, but we're engaging in dialogue with the world," he said. "The world understands us when we speak clearly. The problem is that the Palestinians have an end game. Our problem is that we don't even have an end game among the top seven ministers. We need to think about what our end game is and present it to the world; this is the only way to move things. We need to think out of the box."

 

"For more than 16 years we've been trying. We haven't hindered the efforts of the last year, but to my regret there's no point in it. We have no partner."

 


פרסום ראשון: 06.22.10, 18:08
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