15/02/2010 13:59
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Monday that even if there is a political process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, nothing will come to fruition, Army Radio reported.
“The question must be asked, who does the Palestinian Authority represent? [PA President] Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] does not represent Gaza because Hamas rules there, and since [Hamas] won elections three times, it isn’t at all clear who [Abbas] represents. It isn’t clear if he is capable to provide the goods in negotiations,” the report quoted Lieberman as telling the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
The foreign minister also reportedly said that a large part of the negotiations process is the worldwide delegitimization of Israel by the PA. Part of this effort, he said, is funded by Israel with funds “given to the PA.”
He added that most of the legal actions taken against high ranking Israeli officials around the world is sponsored by the PA and are “its own initiative.”Lieberman's statements were made on the same day that the London-based Times reported that opposition leader Tzipi Livni may be willing to face arrest on war crimes charges in order to provoke the UK government to amend its current law which allows private citizens to secure warrants for war crimes committed outside of British borders.
In response to a question by Livni, asking about the prospects for negotiations, Lieberman said, “I have no faith in someone who comes out with charges of war crimes against Livni or against other Israeli officials. In every conversation between Palestinians and international representatives, they begin the discussion with their lack of faith in our honest intentions,” the radio station said.
