It appears Israel’s peace partner is not wasting time, calling Foreign Minister an “obstacle to peace,” perhaps a fitting term since he is a resident of Gush Etzion and the White House and US Department of State continue to refer to yishuvim throughout Yehuda and Shomron as “obstacles to peace”.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior advisor to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) released a statement on Wednesday that first and foremost, Lieberman will harm Israel’s interests, adding he is an “obstacle to regional peace-making efforts”.

Labeling Israel’s new foreign minister “a racist,” the PA official added the PA is not compelled to engage in diplomatic talks with him.

Lieberman sparked the political row with his remarks that additional concessions will not bring peace to the region, adding the new administration does not view itself bound to the Annapolis Understanding achieved by former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Other PA officials concurred with Rabbo’s remarks, stating Lieberman is not genuinely interested in achieving peace with Israel’s neighbors.

One Foreign Ministry source quoted by the daily Yediot Achronot anonymously stated that the media played right into his hands but he questioned the wisdom of the statement as well as Lieberman’s operational tactics, failing to coordinate the statement with the prime minister. He added that in essence, the new US administration appears to have abandoned Annapolis as well, pointing out that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and special envoy George Mitchell have not made mention of the Annapolis Understanding.

Former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni added that this is a record-breaker, and “never in the history of the Foreign Ministry has a new minister besmirched his predecessor as did Lieberman. It is a display of his total lack of class”.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)