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Livni behind closed doors: Iranian nuclear arms pose little
threat to Israel
By Gidi Weitz and Na'ama Lanski
10/25/07 "h
a a r e t z" -- -- Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said
a few months ago in a series of closed discussions that in her
opinion that Iranian nuclear weapons do not pose an existential
threat to Israel, Haaretz magazine reveals in an article on
Livni to be published tomorrow.
Livni also criticized the exaggerated use that Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert is making of the issue of the Iranian bomb, claiming
that he is attempting to rally the public around him by playing
on its most basic fears. Last week, former Mossad chief Ephraim
Halevy said similar things about Iran.
The article also reveals for the first time a document Livni
prepared and sent to Olmert a few months after the Second
Lebanon War proposing a new division of labor between the two.
"Enclosed is a proposal for work procedures between us, with the
aim of providing an answer to Israel's strategic needs and
facilitating early planning and the formulation of coordinated
Israeli positions ... within the framework of cooperative
relations, full transparency and continuous mutual updates,"
wrote Livni.
She described in the document a number of required arrangements:
"The prime minister and the foreign minister will hold regular
work meetings at least once a week." In an allusion to her
absence from critical discussions during the war in Lebanon, she
wrote: "The foreign minister will be invited to meetings with
the prime minister on security matters and other meetings with
serious implications."
The most important part of the document relates to the talks
with the Palestinians. Livni wrote: "The foreign minister shall
represent the prime minister and the government of Israel, and
will act on their behalf as the director of the dialogue with
the relevant Palestinian representatives, and in accordance with
the policy and methods to be coordinated in advance with the
prime minster, while keeping him informed."
It is reasonable to assume that Olmert's decision to appoint
Livni as head of the negotiating team with the Palestinians at
the Annapolis summit is connected to the document.
The Haaretz article also reveals for the first time a draft of a
document prepared for Livni by her advisor, Dr. Tal Becker of
the Foreign Ministry, who is slated to serve as a senior member
of the negotiating team with the Palestinians. The draft, named
the Diplomatic Horizon, is pessimistic about the chances of
reaching a permanent solution in the near future.
© Copyright 2007 Haaretz. All rights reserved
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