Lieberman: Leave Iran to international community
Speaking at Knesset committee meeting foreign minister discusses conditions for lifting Gaza blockade, relationship with Jordan. 'Iran a challenge for international community, not just Israel,' he says
During the political review meeting Lieberman also addressed the matter of negotiations with the Palestinians: "The problem will not end if we reach an agreement on the 1967 borders, after the agreement they'll demand autonomy in the Galilee. There are officials among the Palestinians who say it explicitly."
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The foreign minister also noted that "the fact that 14 important states voted with us in UNESCO is a significant improvement compared to the past when the only states on our side were the US and Micronesia."
Lieberman gives political review (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky, Yedioth Ahronoth)
Lieberman called the Palestinian move in UNESCO a "Pyrrhic victory" - a victory with such a devastating cost to the victor that it carries that another such victory will ultimately cause defeat. He added that "in spite of all the Palestinian plans and forecasts of a political tsunami, this chapter ended well."
Endless friction
Lieberman praised the Foreign Ministry employees for their global efforts – on the matter of the Gaza flotilla, the Palmer Report, and the Goldstone Report.
He also mentioned Israel's neighbor from the east, Jordan and said: "All this talk of Jordan as the Palestinian state is talk against Israeli interests and against reality." The minister stated that "Declaring Jordan is Palestine goes against international law and the peace treaty we signed with the Jordanians and severely damages Israel's security interests."
"A Palestinian state extending to both sides of the Jordan River would be extremist, militant and would undermine stability in the region and cause endless friction with Israel," Lieberman added.
Lieberman also addressed the Iranian issue noting that it was the challenge of the entire international community: "Iran is a challenge for the international community and not just Israel. This is why the international community must be given a chance to promote meaningful sanctions…Even if the sanctions are implemented without Russian and Chinese support; it's enough to suffocate Iran.
"With all due respect to Israel, there are bigger countries that can handle the Iranian problem with a greater degree of efficiency."
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