FM rejects call for recognizing a Palestinian State

Monday, 13 July 2009 08:27 Al Manar
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Israel, July 13 (Al Manar) Only one day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a public invitation to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to meet with him, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman openly expressed his contempt for the potential negotiations partner and rejected European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana's call for the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian State even if Israel didn't.
"Abu Mazen (Abbas) is not really legitimate, and this is why he has offered a new demand, or advice, to replace Lieberman with (Opposition Chairwoman) Tzipi Livni," the foreign minister told Israel Radio on Monday morning. "I definitely view this piece of advice as a great blessing. His demand to halt construction in the settlements is only an expression of his distress and inability."
Lieberman stressed that as Abbas' authority and legitimacy decline, "the level of expectations increases and the man toughens his stance… What is Abbas' source of legitimacy these days?
"We signed an agreement with the Palestinian Authority. We signed it with the authority which represents all the Palestinians. Today you have Fatahland in Judea and Samaria and Hamastan in Gaza. Who exactly is Abbas representing Half a nation at best."
Addressing the idea raised by European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, to set a date for recognizing a Palestinian state, Lieberman said, "I don't think this is the EU's stand. Solana is about to retire, and like every person facing retirement he wants to leave something behind, make declarations. "It's clear to everyone that the existing precedents in the region (Jordan and Egypt) were based only on negotiations. Peace cannot be forced. (US President Barack) Obama has also said that there is no alternative for direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians. With all due respect to Solana, one must not make too much of this declaration."
Lieberman was commenting on a speech by Solana in London on Saturday in which he called for the international community to set a deadline for recognizing the state of Palestine. "After a fixed deadline, a UN Security Council resolution should proclaim the adoption of the two-state solution. This should include all the parameters of borders, refugees, Jerusalem and security arrangements." "It would accept the Palestinian state as a full member of the UN, and set a calendar for implementation. It would mandate the resolution of other remaining territorial disputes and legitimize the end of claims."

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