Israel Matzav

Lieberman: EU failure to designate Hezbullah a terrorist group makes them irrelevant

Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Avigdor Liberman said on Monday that Europe should not be allowed to interfere in Israel's diplomatic affairs, and would become irrelevant if it fails to designate Hezbullah a terrorist organization.

Speaking at a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting, Liberman called the EU decision not to add Hezbollah to its list of terrorist organizations "hypocrisy incarnate," which would "make the EU irrelevant, as far as we're concerned, when it comes to dealing with the region."

"We need to stop our dialog with the EU," Liberman declared at a press briefing later Monday. "We have a continued dialog with Europe about Lebanon, Sinai, Egypt; it's pointless."

According to Liberman, the EU makes demands of Israel in relation to peace talks, but does nothing in return.

"How does Europe contribute to Israeli security? I keep saying we need to cut them off. There are problems in Afghanistan, Pakistan and North Korea. Why focus on the Palestinians? They need to broaden their diplomatic horizons," he stated.

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The Yisrael Beytenu leader also took issue with countries separating Hezbollah's military and political wing, calling it "pathetic and serving no basis in reality."

"Both the decisions on the execution of terrorist of terrorist acts and political decisions, like for example who will be on the list of  candidates for the Lebanese parliament, arrive from the same source, the mass murderer, Hassan Nasrallah," Liberman wrote.

"The decision made by the EU on the fourth of this month raises many questions," he added. "The most important of which is about the readiness of the EU to combat terrorism and how Israel can rely on European promises to guarantee its security."

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Although Liberman in his letter said the EU had taken a decision on June 4 not to include Hezbollah on its terrorist list, an EU official said no final decision was taken, and that a meeting last week on the matter in Brussels was only a preliminary discussion.

The official said that another meeting on the matter will be held later this month.

I agree wholeheartedly with Liberman's sentiments, but unfortunately, cutting off all dialogue with Europe just isn't realistic.

Labels: Avigdor Lieberman, designated terror organization, European Union, Hezbullah

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:15 PM