FM takes campaign against Abbas to his counterparts

Shortly after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas delivered a scathing speech against Israel Thursday at the United Nations, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman began a round of talks with numerous world leaders saying that Abbas must go.

Liberman, repeating what he had been saying for weeks in Israel, told his interlocutors that as long as Abbas was chairman of the PA there was no chance of an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

Abbas was the principle obstacle to peace, he claimed.

Liberman said that even though Israel “saved the PA from economic collapse” a few days ago, Abbas chose to deliver a speech full of hate and incitement toward Israel similar to those delivered by the leaders of Iran and Hamas.

The PA president accused Israel of pursuing a “policy of war, occupation and settlement colonization” and rejecting the two-state solution.

Liberman said that Abbas had no interest or ability in properly managing daily life in the PA, adding that his only interest was “traveling the world, inciting against Israel and blaming it for all his problems.”

Liberman made these comments during meetings with the foreign ministers of France, Cyprus, Russia, Spain, Belarus, Lithuania, Georgia, Greece, Montenegro, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Romania, Argentina and Panama. He encouraged them to “shake free” of Abbas if they truly wanted to promote an Israeli-Palestinian accord.

He also told his European counterparts that efforts by some in Europe to label goods as being from settlements showed a lack of understanding about the situation in the PA and the West Bank. He added that this would only lead to a worsening of relations between Israel and the PA and harm the places of employment for thousands of Palestinians who work in factories in the settlements.

In addition, the foreign minister relayed his concern about a trend by some European countries to reduce their involvement in UNIFIL, the peacekeeping force in Lebanon.

While in New York, Liberman also met with Ethiopia’s acting prime minister and the foreign ministers of South Sudan and Uganda to discuss bilateral relations.