RAMALLAH, Jan 20 (JMCC) - As his corruption case advances towards a verdict that could remove him from his position as Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman stated he will publish a report of all Palestinian activity during the current Israeli administration.
During a
meeting with French Foreign Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie, Lieberman also threatened to ask the United States to cut foreign aid to the
Palestinian Authority.
The report is designed to counter possible redress by Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu.
Lieberman told Ynet that
Israel cannot let itself show readiness for negotiations and treat the Palestinians with leniency while the other side 'Commemorates terrorists by naming streets and squares after them.'
Lieberman is currently under intense pressure from within his own ministry, leftist groups, and the Israeli justice department. Just last week, the Israeli diplomatic corps' strike led to Russian
Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev visiting the West Bank via the Allenby Bridge in a convoy from Amman - bypassing Israel - where
he reaffirmed support for Palestinian sovereignty. Three days earlier, thousands of protesters in
Tel Aviv decried him as
the Jewish Joseph McCarthy, after his
Yisrael Beitenu party pushed through anti-leftist legislation.
Lieberman is also the target of a corruption investigation that could unseat him. Stalled because of the Israeli attorney's strike, the investigators will release a verdict before March, said current Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein today.
The police had publicly recommended almost a year and a half ago that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman stand trial for multiple charges, including charges of bribery, fraud, money laundering, witness harassment and obstruction of justice. Those recommendations were made during the term of the previous Attorney General Menachem Mazuz.
The combined maximum sentence for those crimes would be 31 years in prison, a police officer said at the time. A police statement said the investigation began in 2006 and covered events going back to 2000.
Read more at
Haaretz...