JERUSALEM: Israel’s new foreign minister angered Palestinians yesterday by saying that Israel was not bound by a deal to start negotiations on establishing a Palestinian state.
On his first day at the Foreign Ministry, right-winger Avigdor Lieberman said the US-sponsored Annapolis declaration of 2007 “has no validity,” confirming a shift in stance toward the Palestinians under new Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Lieberman, a Soviet immigrant denounced as a racist by many Arabs, did stress however that Israel was obliged to follow the course charted by a US-backed peace road map of 2003. That obliges Palestinian leaders to curb attacks on Israel before any negotiations on the final shape of a statehood deal take place.
Lieberman was effectively confirming that Netanyahu’s new administration has withdrawn from its predecessors’ commitment to negotiate on borders and issues like the status of Jerusalem before the two sides are satisfied road map pledges are met.
At a conference in November 2007 hosted at Annapolis in the US state of Maryland by Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to further “the goal of two states” in immediate negotiations with the Palestinians.
But Lieberman said only Bush’s earlier road map, produced in 2003, was binding on Israel. “There is only one document that binds us and that is not Annapolis, it has no validity,” Lieberman said in a brief speech as he took over the ministry from the centrist Tzipi Livni.
A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Lieberman’s comments threatened regional stability and urged the United States to come out and make its opposition clear.
The United States said it would continue to work toward a two-state solution to the conflict, but stopped short of criticizing incoming Netanyahu.
President Barack Obama called Netanyahu to congratulate him on being sworn in as prime minister and “reaffirmed the United States’ steadfast commitment to Israel and its security,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
Separately, State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said: “The Obama administration is committed to seeking a two-state solution for the resolution of differences between Israel and the Palestinians.” Duguid said the US was waiting to hear Israel’s “final position” on the issue.
