Lieberman warns Syrian president and his family

Lieberman warns Assad

Published yesterday (updated) 05/02/2010 10:40

Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman threatened Syrian President Bashar Assad and his family on Thursday, speaking at a business forum hosted by Tel Aviv’s Bar Ilan University.

“If you declare war on Israel, you and your family will lose your reign,” he said, according to a statement circulated by the university, which is considered among the more right-wing institutions in Israel.

Lieberman was referring to a comment made yesterday by the Syrian president that Israel is not serious about its intentions to make peace with Damascus, as evidenced by “its conduct which is leading the region to war.”

The West Bank settler declared that Assad’s statement had “crossed a red line.” “We heard Defense Minister [Ehud] Barak’s sincere call for peace with Syria, and we have now received Syria’s answer. Whoever thinks territorial concessions will disconnect Damascus from the Axis of Evil is wrong,” he asserted.

He also denied any intention to begin indirect negotiations through US mediation with the Palestinians. “I say to Salam Fayyad and to Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas]: without direct negotiations, not only will there never be a Palestinian state, but you will also lose control of the West Bank, just like you lost control of Gaza.”

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