Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned that Israel would no longer be bound by past agreements if Palestinians ask the United Nations for recognition.
“The unilateral move at the U.N. is the end of the Oslo Accords and would be a violation of all agreements that we have signed until now,” Lieberman said, according to Haaretz. “Israel would not be obligated to the agreements that it has signed with the Palestinians over the past 18 years.”
Lieberman made his comments during a Friday meeting in Jerusalem with the European Union’s top foreign affairs official, Catherine Ashton. Lieberman said that Israel is willing to resume negotiations but that this will not happen because Palestinian Authority President Mamoud Abbas prefers confrontation to an agreement.
In a statement, a spokesman for Ashton stressed the urgency of negotiations to achieve peace.
“We are well aware that September is fast approaching,” the statement said, according to The Jerusalem Post. “With the events of the Arab Spring and following President Obama’s speech, it is more urgent than ever to engage in meaningful negotiations and move the Peace Process forward.”
Ashton is expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.
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