Israeli Interior Minister and leader of the right-wing Jewish Home Party Ayelet Shaked told reporters on Friday that Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid is utilizing his United Nation’s speech as as a tool to collect more votes in the upcoming election.
Shaked remarked that Lapid’s comments were useless and that he only spoke for himself when he advocated for the creation of a Palestinian state during his address to the UN General Assembly in New York.
She emphasized that, in accordance with the coalition negotiations, it is established Israeli policy that the Palestinian question is resolved, and that this is “how it was and how it will be.”
“Sadly, this is not the first administration I’ve worked with where the prime minister chooses to utter meaningless platitudes about a Palestinian state. I was present when Netanyahu did that, and much more so in 2014 when he appointed Tzipi Livni to represent him in talks to create a Palestinian state; “Added she.
Shaked stated, “I’m the only one in the political structure today who has been able to remove the Palestinian question from the table for the past 10 years. Netanyahu even sought to get Herzog into the administration in 2016 in camouflaged attempts to talk with the Palestinians.
UK and then Surinam
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid appreciated Liz Truss’ remarks on Thursday on the potential for transferring the UK embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Regarding the matter, Lapid appreciated Truss on his Twitter account and promised to “deepen the partnership between the two countries.”
The UK maintains diplomatic ties with the Palestinians through its embassies in Tel Aviv and occupied East Jerusalem, respectively.
On Thursday, Lapid and Truss had their first meeting since each had been appointed premiers. It took place in New York during the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.
Only a few nations, notably Honduras, Guatemala, and Kosovo, joined the US in moving its embassy to Jerusalem in 2018, while many others disapproved of the move.
The Israeli Foreign Minister said on Friday that Suriname intends to establish an embassy in Jerusalem, according to Reuters.
Yair Lapid posted on Twitter, “Surinamese Foreign Minister Albert Ramdin assured me today during our meeting that his nation aims to soon build an embassy in Jerusalem.”
According to a statement from the Foreign Ministry, Lapid assured Ramdin that his nation was prepared to offer humanitarian help to Surinamese citizens who had been impacted by the devastating floods that had struck the South American nation approximately a month earlier.
Attempts have been made by Israel to persuade nations to relocate their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
But most nations with whom Israel has diplomatic ties continue to oppose the relocation of their embassies from Tel Aviv.
Jerusalem continues to be at the center of the protracted Mideast conflict, with Palestinians maintaining that East Jerusalem, which Israel has been illegitimately occupying since 1967, should be the seat of the Palestinian State.
