Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is not a partner for peace and he is responsible for the failure of the current peace talks, Israel’s Minister of Finance Yair Lapid said.
Israel’s official radio station reported that during a meeting that was held in Eilat with Israeli lawyers, Lapid said that Israel has to find a new partner for peace after the latest attempts proved Abbas is no longer the right person for this mission and is unable to strike a peace deal with Israel.
“More than three weeks ago on Tuesday evening, everyone spoke about an historic opportunity for peace. But on Wednesday morning Abbas signed a reconciliation deal with Hamas,” Lapid said.
“There is no way to speak with Abu Mazen [Abbas] because a 79-year-old man will not be able to sign a peace deal. We have to search for someone who can talk with us and make peace with us rather than someone who is a captive of his own beliefs,” he added.
Lapid expressed his opposition to any unilateral steps by Israel saying that such steps would harm Israel’s interests and reputation. “If Israel will annex settlement blocs there will not be a government,” he said.
“The [two-state solution] involves things that will hurt us all. Evicting 80,000 or 90,000 settlers from their homes shakes us all,” he added.