Liberman to Kerry: Forget Israeli-Palestinian accord, focus instead on regional agreement [View all]

[Jefferson23]

* Long live the occupation.

At meeting in Paris, FM tells US counterpart that Israel could offer “effective and reliable” help to moderate Arab states caught in extremists’ cross-hairs.

Give up trying to broker an Israeli-Palestinian accord, and focus instead on a comprehensive regional agreement, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman told US Secretary of State John Kerry during a meeting Thursday in Paris.



Liberman, meeting Kerry for the first time since the breakdown in March of the US-backed Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, said Israel’s ongoing conflict is not only with the Palestinians, but the entire Arab world -- of which the Palestinians are a part.

For that reason, Liberman said, it was necessary to reach an accord that will include the moderate Arab states, the Palestinians and the Israeli Arabs. He said that this was the first time that there was a commonality of interests between Israel and the moderate Arab countries, with both very concerned about an Iranian nuclear threat, al-Qaida and the threat from global Jihadists, and that the conflicts in Syria and Iraq will spill over to neighboring countries.

http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Liberman-to-Kerry-Forget-Israeli-Palestinian-accord-focus-instead-on-regional-agreement-360678