Lieberman: Scuds threaten stability
After US defense secretary declares Hezbollah has more missiles than most countries, foreign minister expresses concern. 'This is very disturbing, but Israel does not plan to create provocations or initiate rash moves,' he says
Syria is transferring missiles to Hezbollah, and the foreign minister is not happy. The smuggling of Scud missiles from Syria to the Lebanese terror organization is "a very serious matter," Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference in Jerusalem with his Colombian counterpart, Lieberman also addressed the peace process with the Palestinians and slammed the Palestinian president's decision to boycott products made in settlements.
"I listened to the American defense secretary's remarks when he said that Hezbollah has more missiles than most of the countries in the world," Lieberman said.
"This is certainly very disturbing. Israel does not plan to create any provocations or initiate rash moves. Israel is a country with a responsible government. However, hearing the defense minister's words, it certainly is disturbing, and is a threat to the entire region's stability."
Regarding proximity talks, the foreign minister said, "The Palestinians understand that there is not point in stalling and there is no reason to try to blackmail Israel, because there will be no additional concessions. After they realized that we are strong enough to withstand all pressure, they acted wisely and adhered to talks."
He added that Israel is not only willing to hold proximity talks, but is also ready for direct talks.
'PA ministers to give up phones'
He criticized the Palestinians' decision to boycott products made in Israel settlements, as well as the Israeli cellular phone companies. "In practice, most of the PA ministers will have to give up their telephones and their SIM cards," he said. The foreign minister added that he found the decree signed by the Palestinian president "very strange. It does not indicate willingness for peace or cooperation. An economic boycott does not go hand-in-hand with peace talks."
Lieberman added that "Israel operates according to humanitarian values. When we gave the option for a second cellular company, we gave more frequencies, and in exchange, we get a telephone boycott.
"When Israel allowed the interior minister's daughter to undergo an operation, they released a movie about Gilad Shalit. This is unreasonable, just as it is unreasonable to speak of peace while perpetuating terror in the streets with people who have killed hundreds of peace, including foreign citizens."
Of the indirect peace negotiations slated to open in the near future, the foreign minister said, "While there is no exact date for the launch of the talks, I believe that they will be opened within a couple of weeks."
Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez said he received a "warm and friendly" welcome, adding "it was very moving". He said that Bogota wishes to strengthen ties with Israel. "We spoke of the importance of the agreements we are about to sign in the fields of science, culture, sports, trade, etc.
"In Colombia, I will be determined to advance things and I will tell the new government that we will continue to work in this direction."
He turned to his Israeli counterpart and said, "You can count on Columbia and the continued cooperation between the two countries."
