Lieberman: Settlement building won't be frozen for even three hours

[Jefferson23]

Published 19:44 10.05.11
Latest update 19:44 10.05.11


The foreign minister spoke at a conference for foreign diplomats, along with President Shimon Peres, who criticized the recent reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah.


Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman responded to a Palestinian call for Israel to renew its settlement freeze by saying that Israel would do no such thing, "not even for three hours."

The foreign minister, while speaking at the Presidential residence in Jerusalem to foreign diplomats and foreign consular employees said "there will be no building freeze in Jerusalem or in the West Bank, not for three months, not for three days, not even for three hours."

Liberman was responding to a demand made by Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas for a short building freeze, possibly for a few months. A ten month freeze on Israeli settlement building expired in September. Since then the Palestinians have refused to return to negotiations until there is another freeze.

Although he rejected Abbas' request for a settlement building freeze, Lieberman said "we are ready to renew negotiations with no preconditions immediately."

The recent reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah also came up during the speech. We have a right to wonder about Fatah's true intentions, Lieberman said.

in full: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/lieberman-settlement-building-won-t-be-frozen-for-even-three-hours-1.360896

[Jefferson23]

1. Fayyad: Palestinian unity crucial to peace with Israel

Published 19:55 10.05.11
Latest update 19:55 10.05.11


In interview with France 24 TV, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad calls Hamas-Fatah reconciliation an 'absolutely essential' process that should be given a chance.

Palestinian unity is crucial to peace with Israel and the pact between the secular Fatah and Islamist Hamas movements must be given a chance, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said on Friday.

"I am satisfied that we are on the verge of the process of putting the country back together," he told France 24 television in an interview.

Starting the process of reconciling the two rival factions, which fought a brief civil war in 2007 over the Gaza Strip, is "absolutely essential", even if it was not achieved immediately, Fayyad added.

The reconciliation agreement between Hamas and Fatah, announced in Cairo at the end of April, came as a surprise after 18 months of Egyptian mediation, and was greeted with caution by the West and by some skeptical Palestinians.

in full: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/fayyad-palestinian-unity-crucial-to-peace-with-israel-1.360898

[oberliner]

2. He's a real winner

Shouldn't he be in prison?

Israel's Lieberman closer to corruption charges

An indictment on charges of fraud, money laundering, breach of trust, and tampering with a witness was being drafted, the justice ministry said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13071998

[damntexdem]

3. The entire Israeli government should be in prison ...

for land theft and the occasional murder.

[Shaktimaan]

9. does that include...

all of the Arab and Druze members of the Knesset? Or just the Jews?

Or perhaps just the white Jews?

[JonScholar]

10. I probably wouldn't include the knesset. Most likely it would include

Members of the executive. Including the prime ministers office and the military. Those are the people responsible for executing the aforementioned war crimes.

If members of the knesset are to be prosecuted, it would be those who are part of the ruling coalition and can be found to have direct responsibility for the crimes being committed.

[Shaktimaan]

11. The executive?

You mean the cabinet? So... SOME of the Knesset?

This post was in response to a statement by Avigdor Lieberman, who is both the Foreign Minister and a member of the Knesset. And "the military" is the majority of the country.

Those are the people responsible for executing the aforementioned war crimes.

What war crimes? You're losing me here. Right now it seems like you're in favor of putting the entire country in jail, unless you're Arab, an Orthodox Jew or a member of the Knesset who ISN'T also in the cabinet.

[Jefferson23]

4. He said he would step down if charged. I don't know the status

of Israel's attorney general on this, he seems to be considering it.

[oberliner]

5. He would actually be required to step down if indicted

He would have no choice in the matter.

[Jefferson23]

6. I understand that, I believe he stated as such to reflect that he acknowledges

the law/serious nature of the charges etc.

[oberliner]

7. Well good for him

Bring it on.

[LeftishBrit]

8. Isn't he in prison yet?

[oberliner]

12. Notice that he didn't actually say that - it's not an actual quote

I know this because Lieberman doesn't believe there is any such thing as a "settlement" so he never uses that word.

In fact, he lives in what most everyone except some hard-line Israelis would call a settlement himself.

[Kurska]

13. How bout 2? n/t