(Ha'aretz) Mazal Mualem - Vice Prime Minister and Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon said in an interview: By dividing the discussion of the core issues into two phases "in his speech, Obama in effect demanded of us to give up the territorial card without the substantive questions that are important to us - such as recognition of the State of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people - being solved." "There is no doubt that there is a political and diplomatic earthquake taking place in the Arab states and perhaps also Iran, and what is clear is that it is not tied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Obama's speech is negative in this context because it brings back the claim that there is a connection." The Palestinians "are continuing to educate the young generation to deny the attachment between the Jewish people and this land, and that is being done by Abbas, the moderate....So it is quite clear to anyone with eyes in his head that we don't have a partner to the vision of two states for two peoples." "We don't wish to rule over the Palestinians. In actual fact, we already do not control them - in Gaza they have Hamastan and we are prepared for negotiations without any prior conditions with Abbas in Ramallah."
2011-05-23 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive