Dishtowels & Virgins

I was a little disappointed this week because I could find little mention of Lieberman in the Anglo-Israel Anglo online papers. Not even a quote after Tony Blair implied that peace and harmony would reign in Iraq if the Israelis and Palestinians made peace. I thought for sure Lieberman would have something to say about that boneheaded comment in his very un-PC way.

It took till today’s Ynet News, and it’s not a comment on Blair but it still makes the fun quota:

Minister of Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman said Saturday that Israel must ignore Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and topple the Hamas government. Following the US-backed road map peace plan will only worsen the conflict, according to Lieberman. Furthermore, he said Israel must take back control of the Philadelphi Strip which runs along the Egyptian-Gaza border.

In an interview Saturday for Voice of Israel (Kol Yisrael) radio, the Israel Our Home chairman suggested a series of steps based on his belief that the Palestinians are not interested in establishing their own independent sate, but rather want to see Israel destroyed.

“Continued adherence to the Oslo Accords and the road map will lead us to another round of confrontations, too much bloodshed, and in the end we will find ourselves at a worse dead end than the present one. It puts our whole future in danger,” Lieberman said. He continued, “There is no point in targeting refugee camps and Beit Hanoun and all such places. For those people, who live on ten shekels a day, there is nothing to lose. When they are killed, they recruit themselves gladly. We have to focus on those who have something to lose - the leaders of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.”

Lieberman sees Abbas as a weak leader that should be ignored in favor of stronger ties with Jordan in all that is bound up in the fate of the West Bank. “We have always targeted the wrong places and taken care not to speak with the right people,” Lieberman explained.

“We have a dependable partner, and that is Jordan. We must declare Abbas irrelevant. He is hated in the Palestinian Authority. We should ignore him because he has no authority, no power,” he added. “This needs to be explained to the entire international community. I believe there are normal people there who want to develop good neighborhoods, and good education and health systems. There is much to be done with the economic situation there too,” he said.

Lieberman would like to send Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders to heaven with a one-way ticket: “I see all Hamas and Jihad leaders moving about freely, continuing to provoke spirits. They must disappear, go to heaven, all of them. There is no room for compromise on this matter.”

Personally, I think Lieberman is onto something with this sending them to kingdom come. I often wonder if the Lord has a sense of humor, and if he did, I imagine there would be a special place set aside for these guys where they would receive the requisite 72 virgins who all just happen to look like Arafat – complete with liverspots and dishtowels.