Erekat slams Israeli government for absorbing anti-Arab minister

Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat Tuesday slammed Israeli government for its move to approve the entry of Avigdor Lieberman, who is famous for anti-Arab stances, and his extreme-right party Yisrael Beiteinu into the government.

"Neither was the move necessary for the current government's stability, nor does it lends itself to peace in the Middle East," Erekat said, fearing Lieberman's entry to the government "could be a major obstacle to peace."

"Lieberman's idea of peace is an ethnically pure Jewish State which controls Palestinians just like the South-African Bantustans, " Erekat said.

Fearing that the platform of Yisrael Beiteinu, which calls for the unilateral transfer of Arab-Israeli communities to the Palestinian National Authority and Israel's formal annexation of illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank would eventually come true, the negotiator asserted that "the entry of Avigdor Lieberman into the coalition is very troubling."

"We're not talking about a man who is just a little bit eccentric. We're talking about a man who expressly supports ethnic cleansing and the execution of Arab-Israeli politicians," Erekat said, adding that "And this man has just been empowered by the current government."

Israeli Knesset (parliament) voted and approved the addition of extreme-right party Israel Beiteinu led by Avigdor Lieberman into the government coalition on Monday evening.

Avigdor Lieberman will be appointed as deputy prime minister and minister of strategic threats in the prime minister's office.

Source: Xinhua