Foreign Minister Lieberman tells Haaretz that because he's a settler, he stays out of settlement policy. Sound unbelievable? Lieberman doesn't seem to believe it himself.
"I would not want to be accused of this when I have made it a calculated choice not to engage in negotiations on the issue with the Americans," he said. U.S.-Israeli relations are "more important than the will of a foreign minister," Lieberman said.
True. And the reason there's an Israel lobby.
The U.S. has enabled settlements for 20 years.
"There is no alternative to our relationship with the U.S., but we will never give up our red lines," he added.
Wait, which is it, are you negotiating or being intransigent?
Last week, French President Nicolas Sarkozy also urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "rid himself" of Lieberman, who is seen as hawkish and hardline. Netanyahu and Barak have both come to Lieberman's defense in the face of public criticism.
