mick silver
28th December 2010, 08:08 PM
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/26/israeli-foreign-minister-says-peace-impossible-da/ ... JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's foreign minister said Sunday that a peace deal with the Palestinians is impossible under current conditions and that Israel should pursue a lesser deal instead — a concept the Palestinians swiftly rejected.
The latest diplomatic spat between the two sides came as violence along the Israel-Gaza border simmered. After days of accelerated Palestinian rocket attacks on southern Israel and Israeli airstrikes in response, Israeli soldiers killed two Palestinians on the border early Sunday.
IsraeliForeignMinister Avigdor Lieberman told a conference of Israeli diplomats that instead of a full peace deal, Israel should seek a long-term, interim agreement on security and economic matters. Palestinians consistently have rejected that approach.
"It's not only that it is impossible" to reach an overall agreement, he said, "it is simply forbidden."
Mr. Lieberman said the West Bank's Palestinian Authority, with whom Israel has pledged to negotiate, is "not legitimate" because it has postponed elections. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' term expires next month, but there is no date for a new election.
Mr. Lieberman is known for expressing hard-line views that don't always represent Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu, who says he seeks a negotiated, final peace deal with the Palestinians but has declined to give specifics. Mr. Netanyahu's office declined repeated requests for comment.
Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority broke down in September after an Israeli freeze on settlement construction expired.
The Palestinians say they will not negotiate as long as Israel builds homes for Jews in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, lands the Palestinians claim for a future state.
U.S. mediators have returned to indirect talks to seek a way out of the impasse.
Palestinian Authority spokesman Ghassan Khatib rejected Mr. Lieberman's comments, saying most world governments — including Israel's — recognize the Palestinian Authority as legitimate. He said the Palestinians would not accept an interim agreement.
Story Continues →
The latest diplomatic spat between the two sides came as violence along the Israel-Gaza border simmered. After days of accelerated Palestinian rocket attacks on southern Israel and Israeli airstrikes in response, Israeli soldiers killed two Palestinians on the border early Sunday.
IsraeliForeignMinister Avigdor Lieberman told a conference of Israeli diplomats that instead of a full peace deal, Israel should seek a long-term, interim agreement on security and economic matters. Palestinians consistently have rejected that approach.
"It's not only that it is impossible" to reach an overall agreement, he said, "it is simply forbidden."
Mr. Lieberman said the West Bank's Palestinian Authority, with whom Israel has pledged to negotiate, is "not legitimate" because it has postponed elections. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' term expires next month, but there is no date for a new election.
Mr. Lieberman is known for expressing hard-line views that don't always represent Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu, who says he seeks a negotiated, final peace deal with the Palestinians but has declined to give specifics. Mr. Netanyahu's office declined repeated requests for comment.
Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority broke down in September after an Israeli freeze on settlement construction expired.
The Palestinians say they will not negotiate as long as Israel builds homes for Jews in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, lands the Palestinians claim for a future state.
U.S. mediators have returned to indirect talks to seek a way out of the impasse.
Palestinian Authority spokesman Ghassan Khatib rejected Mr. Lieberman's comments, saying most world governments — including Israel's — recognize the Palestinian Authority as legitimate. He said the Palestinians would not accept an interim agreement.
Story Continues →