Israel Matzav

Second memeber of inner cabinet says no peace possible with 'Palestinians'

Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe (Boogie) Yaalon told Army Radio on Tuesday that there is no chance for peace with the 'Palestinians' in the years to come. He is the second member of Prime Minister Netanyahu's seven-member inner cabinet to make such a statement. A similar statement by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman at the United Nations last month angered the Americans. Significantly, Yaalon would be a candidate to become Defense Minister should the Labor party and Ehud Barak leave the government (as the Labor party often threatens to do). The Defense Minister is charged with giving approvals to build housing in Judea and Samaria.

Minister of Strategic Affairs Moshe "Boogie" Ya'alon said that "there is no chance in the coming years for a peace agreement with the Palestinians," he said to Army Radio on Tuesday.

Ya'alon said, "In the eyes of the Palestinians, the occupation started in '48 and not in '67. It is not only Hamas that thinks this way, but also [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas]. They need to be released from this delusion, from not recognizing Israel as the home of the Jewish people, and from from their readiness to agree that an agreement will be the end of all mutual claims, he said in the interview.

He concluded, "They have no interest in having Israel as a neighboring state."

I can't wait to hear the reaction of Mr. Crowley at the State Department. Heh.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:24 PM