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.
...
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."
...
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.
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