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Minister of Strategic Threats Avigdor Lieberman
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| By israelinsider staff and partners November 5, 2006 |
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The newest addition to the Israeli Cabinet, Avigdor Lieberman, on Sunday called for a near-total separation of Jews and Arabs in the Holy Land, saying Israel should follow the example of the divided island of Cyprus.
Lieberman's tough rhetoric drew harsh condemnations and reinforced fears that his presence in the government would paralyze peace efforts. Those concerns were underscored by an impassioned speech delivered by an internationally acclaimed author who lost a son in the Lebanon war.
In a far-reaching interview with Israel's Army Radio, Lieberman said separation is necessary because there is no hope for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
"The source of the conflict here is not territory, it is not occupation, it is not settlers. It is a clash between two people and two religions. Anywhere in the world where there are two peoples and two religions, whether it's the former Yugoslavia or the Caucasus region in Russia or in Northern Ireland, there is conflict," Lieberman said. "What we have seen in Cyprus is that since they have that model, there is no terror. There is security. There is no peace but there is security."
Cyprus has been divided into Greek and Turkish sections since 1974. Repeated attempts by the United Nations to reunify the Mediterranean island have failed.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert brought Lieberman into his government last week to shore up a shaky coalition. Lieberman's hawkish views have raised concerns throughout the world the he will use his powerful post as minister for "strategic threats" to block attempts to pursue peace with the Palestinians.
Olmert quickly distanced himself from Lieberman's remarks.
"The opinions he expressed are not the government's position and Lieberman knows that I am for complete equal rights for the Arab citizens of Israel," Olmert said in the Cabinet meeting. "As long as I am the prime minister that is the policy of the government."
In the interview, the Moldova-born Lieberman -- who is immensely popular among the country's 1 million immigrants from the former Soviet Union -- repeated his view that Israel should strip Arab citizens living near the West Bank of citizenship and place them under Palestinian rule.
He also said Arabs permitted to remain in Israel would have to pass a loyalty test or lose their citizenship. Jewish settlements in the West Bank would be incorporated into Israel. Arabs make up roughly one-fifth of Israel's population.
"The answer is exchanges of land and populations and making a homogeneous, Jewish country as much as possible," said Lieberman, who lives in a West Bank settlement.
"I don't know why the Palestinians deserve a country that is clean of Jews ... and we are becoming a binational country, where 20 percent of the population are minorities. If we want to keep this a Jewish, Zionist country, there is no other solution," he added.
Ahmed Tibi, an Arab-Israeli lawmaker, said Lieberman's comments were "a call to ethnic cleansing."
Cabinet minister Isaac Herzog of the dovish Labor Party called on Olmert to bring in Lieberman to clarify the comments. "Whoever understands the situation in Cyprus realizes how much it is not related to Israel," Herzog said.
Officials in Olmert's office did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Cyprus has been divided since Turkey invaded in 1974 after an attempted coup in favor of joining the island to Greece. It joined the EU in 2004, however Turkey has no diplomatic relations with the island's internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government, and backs the breakaway Turkish Cypriot republic in the north of the island.
The Lieberman interview came on the heels of Saturday night's rally in Tel Aviv marking the 11-year anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
The highlight of the rally, which drew more than 100,000, was a seething address by the internationally acclaimed Israeli author David Grossman, who criticized Israel's leaders for their lack of vision.
"Our political and military leadership is hollow," he said. "When is the last time a leader offered Israel bright initiative to improve life or provide a shining horizon?"
Grossman, whose son was killed in this summer's war between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas, called for renewed efforts to reach peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
"Every sane Israeli, and I should add every sane Palestinian, knows the shape of the settlement," he said. "Most of us understand that a Palestinian state will be formed and the land will be partitioned."
Grossman did not explain why his vision of a two-state solution differed from that of Lieberman.
Grossman attacked the addition of Lieberman to the government, equating his appointment as minister of strategic threats to appointing a "pyromaniac to head the country's fire department."
Grossman's speech dominated morning talks shows and appeared on the front pages of the country's major newspapers.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat condemned Lieberman's words.
"What Israel needs is not more racist decisions," he said. "What Israel needs is exactly what the Palestinians need for the future of security and peace, and that is two states living side by side."
The AP contributed to this report.
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