Ponce
20th April 2010, 08:30 AM
World fed up with stalling by Israel, says defence chiefRule over Palestinians
must end, Ehud Barak warnsPublished On Tue Apr 20 2010Email Print Republish
JERUSALEM–Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak sparked controversy Monday when he told Israelis the world is losing patience with Israel's continued rule over the Palestinians.
He also warned the rift with U.S. President Barack Obama could do long-term damage to Israel.
"The world isn't willing to accept – and we won't change that in 2010 – the expectation that Israel will rule another people for decades more," he said.
Barak's unusually frank public remarks came amid ongoing tensions between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Obama.
"The alienation that is developing with the United States is not good for Israel," Barak said in a radio interview as Israelis marked Memorial Day, remembering 23,000 fallen soldiers and civilian victims of terror attacks.
He called for a new push for negotiations with the Palestinians dealing with the "core issues," including the future of Jerusalem and a solution for Palestinian refugees, two of the most difficult issues.
His comments raised new speculation about whether Barak, from the centre-left Labor party, might be trying to push Netanyahu to a more dovish stance.
Netanyahu, who has accepted a two-state solution of a demilitarized Palestinian state next to Israel, has argued that he is constrained by his right-leaning coalition.
But dovish Israelis have accused Barak of providing a fig leaf of respectability for Netanyahu's hardliner policies.
Netanyahu on Monday repeated his intention to continue settlement expansion in East Jerusalem in opposition to Obama's demand for a freeze.
must end, Ehud Barak warnsPublished On Tue Apr 20 2010Email Print Republish
JERUSALEM–Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak sparked controversy Monday when he told Israelis the world is losing patience with Israel's continued rule over the Palestinians.
He also warned the rift with U.S. President Barack Obama could do long-term damage to Israel.
"The world isn't willing to accept – and we won't change that in 2010 – the expectation that Israel will rule another people for decades more," he said.
Barak's unusually frank public remarks came amid ongoing tensions between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Obama.
"The alienation that is developing with the United States is not good for Israel," Barak said in a radio interview as Israelis marked Memorial Day, remembering 23,000 fallen soldiers and civilian victims of terror attacks.
He called for a new push for negotiations with the Palestinians dealing with the "core issues," including the future of Jerusalem and a solution for Palestinian refugees, two of the most difficult issues.
His comments raised new speculation about whether Barak, from the centre-left Labor party, might be trying to push Netanyahu to a more dovish stance.
Netanyahu, who has accepted a two-state solution of a demilitarized Palestinian state next to Israel, has argued that he is constrained by his right-leaning coalition.
But dovish Israelis have accused Barak of providing a fig leaf of respectability for Netanyahu's hardliner policies.
Netanyahu on Monday repeated his intention to continue settlement expansion in East Jerusalem in opposition to Obama's demand for a freeze.