PM: Latest Wikileaks release won't affect Israel

Netanyahu says more countries realize that Iran is central threat; Livni: Obvious there is common interest to end Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Netanyahu tilting head 311 GPO (photo credit: GPO)
Netanyahu tilting head 311 GPO
(photo credit: GPO)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday responded to Wikileaks documents that were released Sunday night, saying that the exposés would not affect Israel.
Netanyahu told journalists at an editors conference in Tel Aviv that "it will now be harder for you to do your work, and for us."
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"History has been made in the interface between journalism and diplomacy," the prime minister said.
"More and more countries realize that Iran is the central threat, but the countries in the region have a gap because they publicly are attached to the Israeli-Arab conflict but privately they realize that this narrative is not true. They realize that the central threat is from Iran and now this has been revealed even though it was known," the prime minister said.
Netanyahu highlighted that "the question is where this leads. If they continue to not say it publicly, it won't help. But if they start saying it publicly, it can pave the road to peace."
"It can eliminate the theory that Israel is the obstacle to peace and show that we have mutual interests," Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu told the journaists that "I hope they have the courage to say such things. We have a mutual interest in advancing peace and I hope this happens."
Chief Censor, Colonel Sima Vaknin-Gil said on Monday that the cables' exposure is an unprecedented event that verges on anarchism, Israel Radio reported.
Vaknin said that it represents a breakdown in conventional journalism, editing, and personal responsibility.
She noted that though this event is not relevant to censorship, the practice does not work a world of anarchy, but only when there is responsible journalism.
Livni: Now clear Arab states understand Iranian threat
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni (Kadima) on Monday also responded to the documents that were released Sunday night, saying that "it is now publicly clear that the Arab states are included in the understanding of the Iranian threat."
Speaking before a meeting with German President Christian Wulff, Livni said "it is even more obvious now that there is a common interest to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
The Kadima leader said "this conflict is being used by the Iranians, and 2011 is a year of opportunity to end this conflict."
"Allies need to conduct a dialogue between themselves that allows for an open discourse on strategic issues.This can not change," Livni said. "The international community needs to find a system that will allow states to establish this discourse, even if there are no dramatic surprises within the documents that were released."
"Even the issues that related to me do not point out anything that has not already been said in public," she added.
"The year 2007 was characterized by the strengthening of Hamas and therefore the chance of reaching an agreement was low, in 2008 we initiated the peace process in order to change the face of the situation and in 2010 I say again - a peace agreement is possible and it needs to done," the opposition leader stressed.