The Yesh Atid leader said the conflict with the Palestinians was not about borders, Jerusalem, security arrangements, settlements, or Palestinian terror, but about hatred, pain, mistrust and bad memories.
Au contraire. Lapid wants time to heal the hatred etc. Bulshit. Its all about Jerusalem, borders, land ownership and security. With Lapid and Livni’s parties together on this and combined with the MK’s from Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu who support an interim deal, it doesn’t look good for the right wingers. Ted Belman
Finance Minister Yair Lapid praised prospects for an interim agreement with the Palestinian Authority in an exclusive interview with The Jerusalem Post ahead of the newspaper’s annual diplomatic conference next month.
Lapid, who will be a featured speaker at the event, is part of a ministerial forum that regularly receives briefings on the progress of negotiations with the PA that are being conducted by Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s envoy Yitzhak Molho. The leaks from the talks have been limited, but there have been reports that Israel is seeking an interim rather than a permanent deal.
The Yesh Atid leader said the conflict with the Palestinians was not about borders, Jerusalem, security arrangements, settlements, or Palestinian terror, but about hatred, pain, mistrust and bad memories.
“We need to find a solution that concludes the ability to go through these emotions,” Lapid said. “I don’t know if interim state is the name for it, but time is one of the ingredients we need if we want wounds to heal. Let’s leave it vague for now. I’m not going to jeopardize the process to be fancied by somebody or get invited to the right caucus. It’s too important to me.”
Lapid said if the current round of talks with the PA fails, Israel would need to start over again and again and never give up until a deal is reached. Past proposals for an interim agreement have involved Israel transferring barren land in Area C in the West Bank to the Palestinians without dismantling Jewish communities there, enabling the creation of a Palestinian state, and then negotiating its final border.
In an interview that will be published in Friday’s Post, Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon warned that if Netanyahu pursued an interim agreement even after the Likud rejected such a deal, he could be forced out of the party.
“[Netanyahu’s departure from the party] can happen if he decides to endorse Livni’s views,” Danon said. “A deal giving up most of Judea and Samaria – the current Likud leadership will not accept that.
We [who oppose such steps] are the majority in the party. Something so important [as giving up land] cannot be done via political tricks.”
Lapid upset another top figure in Likud when he rejected Negev and Galilee Development Minister Silvan Shalom’s plan for a five-day work week with Sundays off.
“That [plan] is one of those things everyone enjoys contemplating, but there are more immediate problems that have to be dealt with,” said Lapid, whose support would be necessary to implement such a shift.
Lapid said he would, however, back a plan to move the trading of the Israeli stock exchange from Sunday to Friday. Shalom’s associates said synchronizing Israel’s financial system with the world’s would be the first step toward making Sunday part of the weekend.
“After that is implemented, the full implementation of the five-day work week will be expedited,” a source close to Shalom said. “Despite Lapid, Israel will continue to proceed in that direction, because it’s the right thing to do.”
Lapid said he regretted saying in an interview after the January election that he believes he will be Israel’s next prime minister.
But he has not changed his mind.
“I’ve never hidden the fact that, coming into politics, I thought of going all the way, but I’m in no hurry,” he said.
“This government has plenty of juice, and it can last all four years. So far, I did only the difficult painful parts [of being finance minister] that a politician hates doing. I will need some time to gain political profit from the things we’re doing now. So the answer is yes, I will be [prime minister], but I am in no hurry, and I am not obsessed with it.”
bernard ross says:
It is an explanation but not true. This has been a popular urban myth for as long as we have had tight relationship with America.
Nobody would say that America could not hurt Israel economically, diplomatically and militarily if she choose to put the clamps on us.
But reading the commie Habers opinions one might think that poor little Israel has no options.
that our political power junkies are adverse to challenge Haber’s dire apocalyptic forecast is not proof he is correct.
Reagan held up major Phantom deliveries for over a year because of our bombing reactor in Iraq. The Sky didn’t fall on us.
Israel could go over the presidents head directly to the American people and the congress. make AIPAC do something positive for a change. Really test those christian Zionists sincerity. If they don’t come through that’s good too as those Jews who believe they are our friends will get a lesson in history and naivety.
I hope Israel has a large supply of spare parts especially those that are more critical. Israel manufactures a fair amt of parts for both F-15 and F-16 in any case. Worst case we buy parts from other countries using same planes on the quiet or bastardize some of the older planes for parts.
I think if America refused to supply Israel with necessary spares then Israel cancels the F-35 and arranges to purchase Russian 5th generation fighter bombers. Don’t think Lockheed martin and Boeing will be happy campers. There is nothing we get from America that can’t be replaced from other sources equivalents. Yes there will be a price but there is also a price remaining a vassalage to America like sovereignty and independence. It will disrupt our economy for a period but we will bounce back stronger.
Israel is not the same country Haber served in under Rabin and is reflecting more as to what Israel was in the early 90’s not the Israel of today.
If Haber is correct then we can always go back to herding sheep for a few years till it all blows over. 😛
We should bring our WMD’s up from the cellar and flaunt them to our enemies announcing what they would target if we are attacked.
In three years the current bad guy will be gone and we can wait it out.
This may explain why PM’s appear to change their tune.
Thx Yamit, but the article link you provided is from last May. When it comes to Israel, sometimes even a day’s events are enough to cause some change in view on a specific issue.
Hoffman’s article was published today and presumably references a Lapid interview of just days ago. Without the benefit of reading that recent Lapid interview, it is impossible to determine whether Hoffman’s comments fairly represent Lapid’s views.
Too bad Hoffman did not include in his piece, at least a link to the Lapid interview he is discussing.
If that is his real view, he knows an interim agreement is impossible.
Any one who thinks the Arabs want peace haven’t spent time reading the Arabic media.
Bill Narvey says:
Lapid clarifies stance after ‘NY Times’ interview
http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Lapid-backs-talks-even-if-hard-to-trust-Palestinians-313779
Yesh Atid leader faces opposition within party after telling ‘NYT’ settlement’s won’t be dismantled, J’lem won’t be divided.
As Barry Rubin sarcastically noted today – any one who advocates Israel’s destruction is a fool or a liar – most likely the latter!
Its what the Palestinian Arabs have been saying for decades if you take the time to really listen to them.
Again, the core of the conflict has NOTHING to do with land, settlements, borders or feelings of Arab resentment and humiliation. It has EVERYTHING to do with Israel’s existence.
That is why peace is impossible! You can endorse genocide against the Jews or you can accept the fact the current peace talks are ultimately doomed to fail. There is NO third option in the Middle East.
I too couldn’t find the interview, ergo my question.
That said, I am concerned regarding the leaked hints that these current talks are leading to another interim agreement. Such agreement doubtless will include other Israeli concessions in return for more Palestinian promises which invariably will be breached.
Most, if not all concessions Israel has made in relinquishing control of lands or policy positions favorable to Palestinians in return for past Palestinians promises, the Palestinians keep in spite of breaching agreements and yet come back for more.
The international community turns a blind eye to these Palestinian breaches and Israel pretty much just plaintively wails that Palestinians must honor their past agreements.
No one in their right mind would ever let anyone keep what they got through fraud, false pretenses or breached promises and still press that party to make more deals with them.
I don’t get it.
I googled for it but couldn’t find it.
Where is the exclusive JP interview of Lapid that Hoffman refers to? Perhaps the JP interviewer pushed Lapid to explain his statement: “the conflict with the Palestinians was not about borders, Jerusalem, security arrangements, settlements, or Palestinian terror, but about hatred, pain, mistrust and bad memories.”
For instance, whose hatred, pain, mistrust and bad memories is he speaking of?
Hoffman’s reaction to the alluded to JP Lapid interview would be better understood if that interview was available.
Yair Lapid is a narcissus who cannot see beyond his own ego that this for the Arabs is a religious conflict against al-yahuud (Arabic for: The Jews). Yair Lapid was raised in the rarefied ether of a Television Ulpan (Station) in Tel Aviv so his vistas are limited to Rechov Dizengoff and Shenkin – i.e. you can give up the rest the land as far he’s concerned – as long as he has his TV Ulpan in Tel Aviv.
Yair Lapid is blind to the fact the Arabs hate the Jews and want to see Israel destroyed.
The conflict is not due to misunderstandings or feelings of ill-will. Its entirely due to the fact that the Arabs want ALL of Israel eliminated and they will not settle for less. Whoever thinks otherwise – as Lapid does – is completely out of touch with reality.
I am opposed to a Palestinian Arab state, period. They don’t deserve it.