Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman compared his Palestinian counterpart to infamous Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. Lieberman made the harsh statements following Riyad Al-Maliki's speech at the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Tehran earlier this week.
At a panel on Tuesday, the Palestinian minister said, "Recently, we have witnessed an intense attack by the rightist government and Israeli settlements against Palestinian lands and symbols, including against President Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) through direct incitement to kill him by the occupation's foreign minister – extremist settler Lieberman."
He further noted the "dangerous escalation in settlement activity and the judaization of the occupied Palestinian territories, especially in east Jerusalem." Al-Maliki called on the member states to boycott Lieberman.
Speaking at a diplomatic conference at the Tel Aviv University on Thursday, Lieberman said, "Had the speech been signed under the name Goebbels, no one would have known the difference. Al-Maliki is accusing Israel of systematic ethnic cleansing.
"When one talks about a partner, one needs to understand what kind of partner we're talking about. This is the Palestinian foreign minister who is considered a moderate."
Lieberman also addressed the IAEA report issued earlier on Thursday which says that Iran continues to conceal its development of nuclear weapons. "The report discusses severe violations of Iran's commitments."
He further added, "I would not ignore this on the day the summit convenes. If this is the international community, what are we meant to understand? How are we supposed to count on the international community's security guarantees?
"What is going on in Iran is a march of folly and hypocrisy the likes of which were not seen since the 1930s with threats to destroy Israel in the background."
Front Page Features