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Israeli Defense Minister: Israel Open to Dialogue with Moderate Arab States


(Jerusalem Post) Anna Ahronheim - In a pre-Independence Day interview, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said, "We don't have any illusions, but we are open to dialogue with Arab states....Iran is a big threat to the entire region, not just to Israel....There is an understanding in the world about this. At the Munich Security Conference last month [in March], Iran was the biggest topic. Everyone spoke about Iran, not about the Palestinians. The speech by [Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister] Adel al-Jubeir was very interesting; it was the first time I saw a high-ranking Saudi official talking about this." It is "very clear that terrorist organizations are unable to survive without Iran," which continues to finance terrorist groups with at least $300 million a year. The moderate Sunni states in the region "know that Israel is a very strong and reliable ally and it is in their interests to work with us. We are open to all kinds of dialogue with all moderate states." Israel has "adopted a very clear policy regarding Hamas and Hizbullah. We have no intention to launch any military operation on either border....We try to avoid war because no one wants a war, but sometimes, even despite our best intentions and desires, there can be accidents that can lead to a war. If someone wants to impose a war on us, it will be a completely different war than they have ever seen before."
2017-04-28 00:00:00
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