Livni meets with Kerry, Abu Mazen; Netanyahu: She doesn't speak for Israel
After a 'surprise meeting' with US Secretary of State John FN Kerry in London on Thursday ('because they both happened to be there'), Israel's chief
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni (Hatnua) did not represent the State of Israel when she met in London with PA President Mahmoud Abbas, officials in Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office told the media Saturday night.
Israel’s policy, as expressed in a government vote, is not to negotiate with a Palestinian government that is united with Hamas, a terrorist organization intent on destroying the Jewish state, Netanyahu told Livni in a message he sent to her before the Abbas meeting on Thursday.
An official from the Prime Minister’s Office who spoke with Livni said, “you will represent only yourself and not the government of Israel.”
Palestinian officials refused to comment on the London meeting. Livni’s spokeswoman could not be reached for comment. The justice minister wrote on her Facebook page about her London trip, but did not mention her conversation with Abbas.Others in Netanyahu's government had a stronger reaction: They are calling for her resignation.
Bayit Yehudi leader and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett’s attack on Livni took a more personal tone as he called on her to leave the coalition.
“Tzipi Livni has lost touch with the Israeli voter a long time ago. But with her last meeting she showed that she is like a satellite lost in orbit, with no connection to the planet Earth,” Bennett said.
...
Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz of the Likud charged that Livni was addicted to negotiating with the Palestinians and suggested she enter a detox program.Livni ought to be fired. The question is whether Netanyahu can overcome his infatuation with her long enough to do it.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Binyamin Netanyahu, John Kerry, Middle East peace process, Tzipi Livni
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:09 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home