Israel’s foreign minister said on Friday he believed the US and Israel would resolve their differences over Jewish settlements and accused the Palestinians of using the issue to avoid peace talks.
Avigdor Lieberman said settlements were not “an obstacle” to peace, adding that Israel was ready to start direct talks with the Palestinians immediately.
“It’s very clear that ... the settlements ... [are] an excuse for those that tried to avoid any peace talks,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a backer of Jewish settlers, insists that construction must be allowed to continue to accommodate “natural growth” of the settler population in the West Bank through births and marriages.
The Palestinians want the West Bank and Gaza Strip for their future state and say they won’t renew peace talks until Israel agrees to freeze settlement construction and negotiate Palestinian statehood.
US President Barack Obama’s administration is backing the Palestinians on the settlement issue — demanding a freeze in hopes of promoting peace talks, encouraging the Arab world to make overtures toward Israel and improving US relations with Arab states.
Neither side gave any ground when Lieberman met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday in Washington.
Lieberman was asked after a meeting on Friday with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon whether the dispute with the US could be resolved.
Speaking in English, he said: “We have one disagreement, and I think that even in this point we can formulate understandings — we can achieve understandings.”
Later, speaking in Hebrew, he said Israel was “working hard” to reach an agreement with the US and referred to Netanyahu’s speech earlier this month in which he endorsed the idea of a Palestinian state for the first time.
“I believe that after the prime minister’s speech, there is a new positive approach to this issue, and even there we’ll find a formula that will bridge the differences,” Lieberman said.
The settlement issue is expected to dominate Netanyahu’s meeting next week with US special Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell.
Netanyahu’s endorsement of the idea of a Palestinian state listed a series of conditions rejected by the Palestinians — including a refusal to share control over the holy city of Jerusalem, demilitarization of a Palestinian state and recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.
However, Lieberman said there was now a chance to start a dialogue with the Palestinians.
“We don’t have any precondition,” Lieberman said. “I think that we [have a] right for our position. The Palestinians have [a] right for their position and ... it’s important to start with talks without precondition, and every side will try to convince the other side.”
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese