Syria has disrupted efforts to free kidnapped IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit and interfered with attempts to defuse Israel's ongoing conflict with the Palestinians, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Monday. Syria has also caused trouble within the Palestinian Authority, Livni alleged. Whenever Hamas showed signs of cooperation with PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Syria sent messages saying, "Don't do it," she said.
| Syria's just the puppet, Iran is the hand inside ... |
Livni said Israel had lost a year of negotiations with the Palestinians after a Hamas victory in January's Palestinian legislative elections led to international sanctions and a divided and ineffectual government. She said Hamas should not have been allowed to take part in the elections because they sponsor terrorism. "Democracy is not about voting, but about values," she said. "There is a need to demand of any party, as part of the democratic system, to adopt the values of democracy before participating in elections. This is part of any democratic system in the world except in the Middle East."
Livni said she still believed in a two-state solution, and urged Palestinian moderates who share common ground with Israelis to work with them.