Lieberman’s renewed mission statement
Ronny Sofer, YNET
Another mission statement released by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman holds a possible threat of pulling out of the government if a declaration of principles including territorial compromises with the Palestinian Authority is approved.
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“The land for peace principle…is a misleading and deceptive principle. At best it leads to a dead end. The misdiagnosis leads to a predicted failure,” Liberman wrote in his statement.
The timing of the statement – during negotiations between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas – is no coincidence.
Lieberman is concerned the two leaders will decide on handing most of the West Bank over to Palestinian control ahead of the US-sponsored international conference set for November.
The minister is also concerned with Vice Premier Haim Ramon’s statements that most of the West Bank may be returned to Palestinian control and the possibility that the declaration of principles may be approved by the government and Knesset.
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“The assumption is that the root of the Israeli-Arab conflict is territorial, and from here stems the hope that territorial concessions will lead to an end to the age of wars and the beginning of an age of peace with our neighbors,”
“This perception is not in line with accumulated experiences…It’s enough to look at the two recent cases in which we gave up every last bit of land – in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip – to prove the exact opposite. Not only do territorial concessions not bring peace, but they directly lead to deterioration and worsening of terror.”
Lieberman asserted, in a mission statement for Yisrael Beiteinu, that the belief that the current conflict is a territorial one leads to mistakes in Israeli foreign policy.
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“The basic mistake is that we have no opposing thesis to stand against that of our neighbors – self-determination and right of return. The State of Israel must explain that the current anti-Israeli stance of many extremist Islamic leaders is a direct extension of classic anti-Semitism.”
“Israel needs to explain that the demand to establish an independent Palestinians state and the right of return for refugees is simply camouflage for the attempt of extremists in the Muslim world to annihilate the State of Israel… Two states for two peoples is not meant to be a state and a half for one of the peoples and half a state for the other. As such, it is clear why the policy of territorial concessions does not address the existing problems and why is this policy unable to bring… peace or security or even temporary calm.”
Lieberman further claimed in his mission statement that the claim that the Israeli-Arab conflict is the heart of the conflict in the Middle East is a fallacious one.
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“The conflict is just an expression of an ongoing conflict of the fundamentalist world against any way of life that is different than Islam. Israel, as a representative of the western world, stands opposite to it in such a conflict,”
He emphasized his well-known corollary that a solution to such a problem is a population exchange.
Regarding a solution for rocket fire emanating from Gaza, Lieberman stated that:
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“The fate of the Rimal neighborhood in Gaza is the fate of Sderot. If Sderot will be harmed, so Rimal will be.” He called for a NATO and European Union force to be deployed to Gaza. “NATO forces would protect the public order and regional safety. The EU would be responsible for establishing and developing infrastructure and jobs for Gaza residents. The bottom line, the final model in Gaza must be based on the model of Hong Kong (for financial success in a small territory) and not on a connection with the West Bank.”
Lebanon’s future – to fall into Shiite hands from Syria
In the north, Lieberman predicted that Lebanon would fall into Shiite hands from Syria. “Syria still sees Lebanon as an integral part of its territory. Such a Syrian goal is not only fantasy, but a goal that will be realized in the foreseeable future. All efforts to entrench the existing Lebanese regime or strengthen (Prime Minister Fouad) Siniora’s hand will not help.
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“Due to the existing alliance between Hizbullah with certain Christians, lead by Michel Aoun, it seems that the position of pro-Syrian Lebanese will grow stronger until, in the end, the country will fall to the Shiites.”
