Defense minister meets Rice in Jerusalem; Likud's Netanyahu tells her he'll take "new path to peace."
By JPOST.COM STAFF, TOVAH LAZAROFFRice and Barak shake hands 248.88(photo credit: AP)
Israel is not ruling out any option when it comes to dealing with Iran's nuclear program, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Friday.
Following a meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Jerusalem, Barak said he told her that Israel is "not taking any option off the table, and we don't recommend that others take any option off the table," stressing, "We mean what we say."
Barak insisted that Iran was continuing to "trick the world" in negotiations over the monitoring of its nuclear activities.
Barak went on to congratulate US President-elect Barack Obama on his election victory and he also praised Rice for her efforts in pushing for a Middle East peace deal.
"I must thank her and the outgoing US administration for the great efforts they have exerted in pressing for a resolution of the conflict," he said.
The defense minister said Rice deserved praise and many thanks for her "support for Israel's strategic interests and for the creativity both sides have displayed together under the guidance of Secretary of State Rice on issues such as the Jenin project."
Also meeting Rice Friday, opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu said that he would take a "new path to peace" if elected prime minister.
Netanyahu said he would combine negotiations with economic development for the Palestinians.
Rice arrived in Israel Thursday, ahead of a Quartet meeting in Sharm e-Sheikh.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit are set to join Rice for the meeting at the Red Sea resort.
Livni is expected to urge the Quartet on Sunday not to bind Israel to an artificial deadline by which to reach a final status agreement with the Palestinians. In fact, the White House acknowledged for the first time on Thursday that such a deal would not be concluded by the end of US President George Bush's term in January.
During a joint press conference on Thursday evening with the secretary of state in Herzliya, Livni said, "We need to find a way to continue [peace talks] regardless of the question of time lines, titles or change of administration in the United States of America."
EU envoy Marc Otte told The Jerusalem Post that the Quartet wanted to hear from Livni and Abbas about their progress to date in peace negotiations, and to record the progress in a document that would aid future negotiations.
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