In a meeting with his Norwegian counterpart, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman declares that he would work to cut off all relations with the Palestinians immediately, says he has “some influence” on government decisions • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Unilateral declaration would be a clear violation of past agreements.
If the Palestinian Authority goes forward with its unilateral declaration of statehood at the U.N. General Assembly in September, Israel's Foreign Ministry would see the move as grounds for cutting ties with the Palestinians, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Sunday.
Lieberman made the comment during a meeting with his Norwegian counterpart, Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store, who is on a visit to Israel.
“If the Palestinians make a unilateral declaration, I will work to ensure that Israel cuts off relations immediately,” Lieberman told Store, emphasizing that there was no official decision on the matter but that he had “some influence” on government decisions of this type.
Lieberman said that Israelis unanimously believe that a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood would violate all standing agreements between the parties and render them void.
“It can't be that in the morning the Palestinians cooperate, and then, in the evening, they sue us at the International Court of Justice in The Hague,” Lieberman told Store.
Lieberman is slated to meet on Tuesday with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who is in the region to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders in an effort to restart peace talks.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also met with the Norwegian foreign minister on Sunday. He opened the meeting by saying, “The Palestinian move to unilaterally declare statehood in the U.N. is a clear violation of their obligations from past agreements signed with Israel.”
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A new poll whose results were released on Monday has found that most youth in Israel tend to identify with the right side of the political map.
According to the results reported on Channel 10 News, 17% of high school students believe that Israel’s next Prime Minister should be Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beiteinu). Lieberman is followed by journalist Yair Lapid (who has not officially announced he is running for politics but who has openly expressed his desire to rebuild his late father’s, Tommy Lapid’s militantly secular, left-of-center Shinui party), who got 13%. Current Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu received only 8%.
“There are an additional three percent who mentioned Kahane, [Baruch] Marzel and [National Union MK Michael] Ben Ari,” Professor Camille Fuchs of Tel Aviv University, who conducted the poll, told Channel 10.
The poll also found that the youth would give the Likud party 26 seats in the next election, Kadima would receive 23 seats, Yisrael Beiteinu would receive 22 seats, and the Labor party would receive only five seats.
75% of the teenagers polled said they are opposed to removing Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and 60% believe Israel would be better off by giving up on a peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority that would include giving Jerusalem’s Arab neighborhoods to the PA.
On another major issue, 83% of the youth said they would prefer that Israel not sign a peace treaty with Syria if it calls for the return of the Golan Heights.
“We’ve tried reaching peace agreements and it hasn’t worked,” one teenager told Channel 10. “Maybe we need to take measures that are more aggressive.”
MK Michael Ben Ari (National Union) welcomed the results and said, “Israeli youth is a healthy youth and the left and the media cannot spoil it. The youth has had enough of surrender and humiliation and they want a different policy toward the enemy.”
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A new poll whose results were released on Monday has found that most youth in Israel tend to identify with the right side of the political map.
According to the results reported on Channel 10 News, 17% of high school students believe that Israel’s next Prime Minister should be Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beiteinu). Lieberman is followed by journalist Yair Lapid (who has not officially announced he is running for politics but who has openly expressed his desire to rebuild his late father’s, Tommy Lapid’s militantly secular, left-of-center Shinui party), who got 13%. Current Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu received only 8%.
“There are an additional three percent who mentioned Kahane, [Baruch] Marzel and [National Union MK Michael] Ben Ari,” Professor Camille Fuchs of Tel Aviv University, who conducted the poll, told Channel 10.
The poll also found that the youth would give the Likud party 26 seats in the next election, Kadima would receive 23 seats, Yisrael Beiteinu would receive 22 seats, and the Labor party would receive only five seats.
75% of the teenagers polled said they are opposed to removing Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and 60% believe Israel would be better off by giving up on a peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority that would include giving Jerusalem’s Arab neighborhoods to the PA.
On another major issue, 83% of the youth said they would prefer that Israel not sign a peace treaty with Syria if it calls for the return of the Golan Heights.
“We’ve tried reaching peace agreements and it hasn’t worked,” one teenager told Channel 10. “Maybe we need to take measures that are more aggressive.”
MK Michael Ben Ari (National Union) welcomed the results and said, “Israeli youth is a healthy youth and the left and the media cannot spoil it. The youth has had enough of surrender and humiliation and they want a different policy toward the enemy.”
