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Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni have locked horns over the issue of resuming peace talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA) following Israel's devastating, 51-day onslaught on the Gaza Strip, Israeli daily Haaretz reported Tuesday.
During an Israeli cabinet meeting this week, Ya'alon reportedly said that Israel – following its weeks-long war on the Gaza Strip – should "learn [not to] run to [embrace] diplomatic channels," Haaretz reported, citing the accounts of three Israeli cabinet ministers.
Ya'alon also reportedly said he objected to negotiating with the PA as long as a recently-unveiled Palestinian unity government – the product of a reconciliation deal between the PA and resistance faction Hamas – was in office.
According to the report, Livni "responded angrily… saying that Israel should embark on meaningful negotiations to counter the legal and diplomatic assault expected following the war in Gaza."
Israel's onslaught ended last week with a cease-fire deal that was celebrated by Hamas as a victory over the self-proclaimed Jewish state.
Livni also reportedly said Israel should pursue a two-pronged strategy that entails negotiating a "permanent" peace solution with PA President Mahmoud Abbas and the Ramallah-based unity government, while also working with the U.S., the E.U. and other international actors to "change the reality in Gaza" by encouraging the PA to govern the Strip in place of Hamas, which has remained in de facto control of the coastal enclave since 2007.
Haaretz also reported that John Allen, the U.S. coordinator for security between Israel and the PA, was considering resigning due to the "diplomatic standstill" after hearing exceptionally "hawkish" remarks from Ya'alon and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week.
Israel's offensive against the Gaza Strip, launched on July 7, left some 2,147 Gazans dead and 11,000 injured – the vast majority of them civilians – while partially or completely destroying thousands of residential structures across the territory.
The offensive, initially launched with the stated aim of ending rocket fire from Gaza, finally ended with the announcement on August 26 of an open-ended cease-fire.
According to Israeli figures, 67 Israeli soldiers and five civilians were killed over the course of the operation – the highest military death toll suffered by Israel since it lost 119 troops in its 2006 war on Lebanon.
Martin Indyk, U.S. special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, resigned in June following the breakdown of Israeli-Palestinian talks.
He was temporarily replaced by U.S. diplomat Frank Lowenstein.
By Abdel-Raouf Arnaout
englishnews@aa.com.tr
www.aa.com.tr/en - Kudüs
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