Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman Resigns
At a Wednesday press conference, Lieberman termed the ceasefire agreement with Hamas and the other Palestinian factions in Gaza as a “surrender to terror,” adding this was the final straw in a series of disagreements he had with Prime Minister Netanyahu on security issues
IsraelDefense
| 14/11/2018
Photo: AP
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced Wednesday afternoon that he would resign his position, and called for elections as soon as possible.
“I am indeed here to announce my resignation from the position of defense minister,” Lieberman said at a press conference following a meeting of his Yisrael Beitenu party.
“I have tried to remain a faithful member of the Cabinet and to make heard another view, even at a great electoral and political price," Lieberman said.
“What happened yesterday with the ceasefire and the entire process of reaching an agreement with Hamas amounts to surrendering to terror, there is no other explanation,” Lieberman said. “What we have done recently is buy quiet for the short term, but we will end up paying a high price for our long-term quiet.”
“The response that we gave to the 500 rockets shot from Gaza was not enough, to say the least,” Lieberman continued. “The south should come first. Our weakness is being broadcast to other fronts.”
Terrorists should not feel free to riot at the border or incite against Israel, Lieberman added. “Hamas isn’t talking about coexistence and recognition of Israel," he said. “They don’t want to reduce unemployment in Gaza.”
Lieberman cited a number of areas of disagreement between himself and Prime Minister Netanyahu, which he said culminated in Wednesday’s decision.
Referring to Netanyahu’s approval to allow the passage of $15 million to Hamas from Qatar last week, he said, “On the one hand we labor in the Knesset to cut the budget we give to the Palestinian Authority due to the funds they pay terrorists, and here on the other hand we supply Hamas with money to pay the terrorists.”
“You have to understand where this money went,” he said. “Before anyone else, it went to the families of terrorists who clashed with IDF soldiers at the fence.”
“It is no secret that over the past few months, there have been disagreements between myself and the Prime Minister. For instance, my opposition to the [decision] to permit fuel from Qatar to be allowed into the Gaza Strip. I did not want to permit Qatari fuel in [to Gaza]. I thought that this is a mistake. Only after the Prime Minister made a formal written order was I forced to allow Qatari fuel into the Strip."
Lieberman also cited the recent coalition decision, pushed by Netanyahu, to delay implementation of a Supreme Court order to demolish the illegal Bedouin encampment of Khan al-Ahmar east of Jerusalem.
“The same thing happened with the evacuation of Khan al-Ahmar. With the takeover by a Bedouin tribe of a strategic area between Maale Adumim and the Dead Sea on Highway 1, I thought it was imperative that we evacuate it. Sadly, in this case as well, the Prime Minister issued a direct order and blocked the evacuation.”
The minister asked the coalition to act swiftly to decide on new elections. “Don’t paralyze the country in the long term,” he said.
Hamas celebrated Lieberman’s resignation, calling it a “victory for Gaza.”
"Lieberman’s resignation is a recognition of defeat and incompetence in the face of the Palestinian resistance, a political victory for Gaza, which has succeeded in steadfastness to cause a political shake in the arena of occupation," Hamas said in a statement following Lieberman’s resignation.
[Sources: Israel National News, The Jerusalem Post, The Washington Post, i24 News]
At a Wednesday press conference, Lieberman termed the ceasefire agreement with Hamas and the other Palestinian factions in Gaza as a “surrender to terror,” adding this was the final straw in a series of disagreements he had with Prime Minister Netanyahu on security issues
Photo: AP
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced Wednesday afternoon that he would resign his position, and called for elections as soon as possible.
“I am indeed here to announce my resignation from the position of defense minister,” Lieberman said at a press conference following a meeting of his Yisrael Beitenu party.
“I have tried to remain a faithful member of the Cabinet and to make heard another view, even at a great electoral and political price," Lieberman said.
“What happened yesterday with the ceasefire and the entire process of reaching an agreement with Hamas amounts to surrendering to terror, there is no other explanation,” Lieberman said. “What we have done recently is buy quiet for the short term, but we will end up paying a high price for our long-term quiet.”
“The response that we gave to the 500 rockets shot from Gaza was not enough, to say the least,” Lieberman continued. “The south should come first. Our weakness is being broadcast to other fronts.”
Terrorists should not feel free to riot at the border or incite against Israel, Lieberman added. “Hamas isn’t talking about coexistence and recognition of Israel," he said. “They don’t want to reduce unemployment in Gaza.”
Lieberman cited a number of areas of disagreement between himself and Prime Minister Netanyahu, which he said culminated in Wednesday’s decision.
Referring to Netanyahu’s approval to allow the passage of $15 million to Hamas from Qatar last week, he said, “On the one hand we labor in the Knesset to cut the budget we give to the Palestinian Authority due to the funds they pay terrorists, and here on the other hand we supply Hamas with money to pay the terrorists.”
“You have to understand where this money went,” he said. “Before anyone else, it went to the families of terrorists who clashed with IDF soldiers at the fence.”
“It is no secret that over the past few months, there have been disagreements between myself and the Prime Minister. For instance, my opposition to the [decision] to permit fuel from Qatar to be allowed into the Gaza Strip. I did not want to permit Qatari fuel in [to Gaza]. I thought that this is a mistake. Only after the Prime Minister made a formal written order was I forced to allow Qatari fuel into the Strip."
Lieberman also cited the recent coalition decision, pushed by Netanyahu, to delay implementation of a Supreme Court order to demolish the illegal Bedouin encampment of Khan al-Ahmar east of Jerusalem.
“The same thing happened with the evacuation of Khan al-Ahmar. With the takeover by a Bedouin tribe of a strategic area between Maale Adumim and the Dead Sea on Highway 1, I thought it was imperative that we evacuate it. Sadly, in this case as well, the Prime Minister issued a direct order and blocked the evacuation.”
The minister asked the coalition to act swiftly to decide on new elections. “Don’t paralyze the country in the long term,” he said.
Hamas celebrated Lieberman’s resignation, calling it a “victory for Gaza.”
"Lieberman’s resignation is a recognition of defeat and incompetence in the face of the Palestinian resistance, a political victory for Gaza, which has succeeded in steadfastness to cause a political shake in the arena of occupation," Hamas said in a statement following Lieberman’s resignation.
[Sources: Israel National News, The Jerusalem Post, The Washington Post, i24 News]
