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Friday, May 14, 2010

Barak and Yishai argue over Jerusalem

Defense Minister Ehud Barak (Labor) and Interior Minister Eli Yishai (Shas - pictured) made dueling statements to the media on Thursday regarding construction in Jerusalem.
Israel's current political situation is very delicate and everyone needs do their utmost to preserve it, Defense Minister Ehud Barak stressed Thursday.

"The attacks made by Israeli senior ministers against US attempts to further the peace process, and the scathing opposition to Palestinian Authority leaders greatly endangers our severely delicate political situation," Barak underlined.

The comments came after Interior Minister Eli Yishai's earlier statement in which he insisted the government would continue to build in Jerusalem, and that "the government will not give in to American pressure."

Barak recommended that "everyone, both us and the Palestinians, proceed responsibly in order to prevent provocative and reckless statements."

According to Barak, these words damage Israel's interests with the US and the international community. "These attacks make Israel appear to be opposed to peace, and they erode our international standpoint."
For now, we can talk about it all we want, but there is no building going on for Jews - at least in the 'eastern' half of Jerusalem. It will be interesting to see if anything changes after the US elections in November. I don't believe anything will because Congress has a limited effect on foreign policy.

But there isn't much more by which our 'international standing' could be eroded. And as to being opposed to peace, I think the time has come to say, "we tried, we were willing to give everything we possibly could and beyond, but there was no partner on the other side, so let's move on."

1 Comments:

At 6:12 AM, Blogger NormanF said...

There is no Palestinian partner. Israel could agree to give away Jerusalem and talk to Hamas and it still would not receive peace in return. Every one in Israel understands this but the Left. And Netanyahu's concession on Jerusalem has established a dangerous precedent that will lead to intensified American pressure for far-reaching unilateral Israeli concessions.

And Israel's ability to resist this pressure is in doubt.

What could go wrong indeed

 

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