JERUSALEM — Israel’s foreign minister says Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is an “obstacle” to peace, and he hopes Abbas will soon resign.
Avigdor Lieberman lashed out at the Palestinian leader in a briefing with reporters Monday. He said Abbas has been leading a campaign to delegitimize Israel internationally and that he has become an “obstacle that needs to be removed.”
In the past, Abbas has repeatedly threatened to resign. Lieberman called on him to carry out his threat, adding that “whoever comes after him will be better.”
Abbas is leading a drive for U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state. Israel is hotly opposed.
Lieberman said he was “100 percent” sure that in the current climate, establishment of a Palestinian state would lead to rocket fire against Israel.
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