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Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman with US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice (Flash90)
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| By Israel Insider staff October 16, 2007 |
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Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice on Monday that the if Prime Minister Ehud Olmert negotiates divisive issues with the Palestinian Authority, as per Rice's demands, Olmert's government will collapse.
Among the issues that Lieberman said should be excluded from negotiations are Jerusalem, borders and refugees. The minister added that a large-scale Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip was inevitable, according to the Jerusalem Post.
"In the current political conditions, the government cannot allow itself to make controversial decisions on sensitive issues," Lieberman told Rice. "The conference planned for Annapolis is a mistake. It will be just another conference and just another document. Without a noticeable improvement in Israeli security or Palestinian economic conditions, the conference will not be different than any of the unsuccessful conferences of the past."
Lieberman stressed that steps must be taken to stabilize the PA's economy before talks can begin on critical issues.
"There is no point in raising complex and sensitive issues until the Palestinian economic situation is taken care of," he said.
Meanwhile, Likud is urging Lieberman's party, Israel Beitenu, and Shas -- key players in Olmert's coalition -- to withdraw from Olmert's government in response to the prime minister's intentions to divide Jerusalem according to the Camp David Accords, according to Haaretz. The accords, which failed in 2000, call for ceding the Old City of Jerusalem, the Temple Mount and Arab neighborhoods to the PA, and declaring Jerusalem the PA's capital.
Shas has already made clear that it would oppose any attempt to divide Jerusalem. A number of Kadima MKs, led by Otniel Schneller, said they would also abandon Olmert's coalition if the prime minister agreed to a plan dividing the capital city.
Highlighting the pessimism surrounding the upcoming summit, officials close to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas have expressed interest in postponing the summit until December due to the mounting improbability that Israel will be able to accommodate the PA's growing demands.
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