…”learn to live with it”.
On the arrival of George Mitchell, Obama’s envoy in Israel to negotiate a two state solution within two years, Israel’s foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, announced there is no chance of an early solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The announcement suggests that this Likud government has elected to “manage the conflict,” to use Jeff Halper’s (ICAHD) words, rather than resolving it, and nothing in Netanyahu’s actions suggest otherwise.
Israel’s colonialism continues unabated.
Avigdor Lieberman does not lead Israeli peace negotiations, but his statement casts a pall over latest US diplomatic efforts to revive negotiations. Envoy George Mitchell is in the region, spearheading Obama administration efforts to relaunch negotiations. Talks are stalled over the issue of Jewish settlements on occupied land.
Mr Mitchell is due to meet Mr Lieberman and Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Friday.
Reports quote US officials saying the visit was unlikely to conclude with a resumption of talks.
“learn to live with it”, indeed.
Let me add am earlier citation from Oui:
Lieberman: Norway too ‘hostile’ to have monitors in Hebron
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(Haaretz) – Prominent local heads of West Bank settlements spelled out their dissatisfaction with the Netanyahu government in an August meeting with the prime minister’s aides and to the man himself at one point.
The heads of four West Bank settlements (and all members of the Likud Central Committee) bitterly criticized current government policy on the settlements, according to the minutes of the meeting, which were released by the office of Eyal Gabbai, the director general of the Prime Minister’s Office, who was there. The critics were Ma’aleh Adumim Mayor Benny Kashriel, Ariel Mayor Ron Nachman and two local council heads, Gush Etzion’s Shaul Goldstein and Beit El’s Moshe Rosenbaum.
Kashriel appears in the minutes as saying: “The [West Bank settlement] heads in Judea and Samaria are in a situation today in which they are humiliated and ridiculed. There was never such a bad period [as the present]. Before the elections, there was talk of construction in settlement blocs. Now we are not seeing an end [of this]. Everything is frozen. Under the prior [Olmert] administration, it was possible to build between houses. Now this is not [allowed]. The situation also has direct economic implications. There is no construction. There is no income from permits, from the sale of land or from property taxes. Charitable foundations are not coming to Judea and Samaria. There was a meeting with the finance minister in which promises were made, but since the approval of the budget, it has not been possible to get [what was promised].”
‘U.S. furious over Israeli incitement against Obama’
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Thanks for these references, Oui.
Another interesting one: