Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Avigdor Lieberman this morning warned Syrian President Bashar Assad that he and his family would lose their reign in the event of war with Israel. Lieberman made his statement at a Business Forum hosted by the Friends of Bar-Ilan University.
Minister Lieberman was referring to a comment made yesterday by the Syrian President that Israel is not serious about its intentions to make peace with Damascus as evidenced by "its conduct which is leading the region to war." Lieberman declared that Assad's statement had 'crossed a red line'. "We heard Defense Minister [Ehud] Barak's sincere call for peace with Syria, and we have now received Syria's answer. Whoever thinks territorial concessions will disconnect Damascus from the Axis of Evil is wrong," Lieberman asserted.
Foreign Minister Lieberman denied any intention to begin indirect negotiations (through American mediation) with the Palestinian Authority. "I say to Salem Fayed and to Abu Mazen: without direct negotiations, not only will there never be a Palestinian State, but you will also lose control of the West Bank, just like you lost control of Gaza. The conflict with the Arab world still is no longer national, but rather religious, and no territorial compromise will work," said Lieberman. Religious conflicts are not solved through territorial compromise. I don't know who Abu Mazen and Salam Fayed represent. When we conduct negotiations, I want to know who's on the other side. There is nothing we haven’t tried, from Camp David to Gush Katif, where we transferred nearly 10,000 Jews from their homes. As compensation we received Hamas and terror. Nothing has changed since November 29th 1947. Olmert and Livni used conciliatory rhetoric of peace. What is the result? The second Lebanon War, and Operation Cast Lead."
"Conciliatory rhetoric brings lies. I can't change the bitter reality with a sweet lie. Sixteen years went by from Oslo to the establishment Netanyahu's second government. And what's happened? Nothing! There have been pleasant people, not like Lieberman… but our biggest problem is reading comprehension -- you can't force peace. You must build peace. The correct order must be: security, economy, and only then peace. As of today, the Palestinian Authority isn’t equipped to offer security and jobs. It isn’t a stable entity which has the ability to reach a peace agreement. We must ensure our security. We've taken down checkpoints, we've allowed Fatah to establish a council in Bethlehem, we've instated a settlement building freeze on the West Bank -- we've made enough gestures. We must ensure a political horizon. We believe in true peace. The same international community that has been preaching to us about morals, hasn’t shown any success stories for itself -- not in Somalia, not in Yemen, not in Pakistan, and not in Afghanistan," emphasized Lieberman.
With regard to Iran, Foreign Minister Lieberman called Iran 'the heart of the problem'. "A nuclear weapon in Iranian hands is significant. The fear that the weapon will reach into the hands of terror groups also exists. That’s why sanctions are so important. This is our last opportunity to overcome this threat. There's no room for excuses, the world must make decisions. Russia has a particularly important position. Russia has shown responsibility and taken a balanced position. And China doesn’t want to remain isolated in the international arena, and so we must encourage Russia with a positive message to remain balanced," he said.
Following his speech Bar-Ilan University President Prof. Moshe Kaveh and David Fuhrer, Chairman of the Israel Friends of Bar-Ilan University, presented Lieberman with an original copy of the Prayer for Peace in the State of Israel handwritten by S.Y. Agnon.
Government Press Office
