More Quotes
“I am proud that our country supported the establishment of that national homeland. And I am proud of the strength of UK and Israeli relations. Israel today is a multi-racial, multi-ethic democracy. An Arab judge sits in the supreme court. Elsewhere in the Middle East minority communities live in persecution and oppression.”
(MP Caroline Ansell speaking at a Westminster Hall debate on the Balfour Declaration, 16/11/2016)
“We have to ask ourselves what is in Israel’s interests. The interest of the Israelis and, in my view, of the government, is indeed to achieve peace with the Palestinians through direct negotiations, without preconditions, at any time, in order to get to a solution of two states for two peoples.”
(Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Michael Oren, on Israel’s response to Donald Trump’s election in the New York Times, 15/11/16).
“The new administration is likely to be harder on Iran, even if it does not renege on the 2015 nuclear deal. What remains to be seen is how much Trump would be willing to invest to prevent the Shiite power from becoming stronger, especially given its ties with Russia which, like Iran, is heavily involved in Syria.”
(Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror, writing in newspaper Israel Hayom, 11/11/16)
“Politicians who are saying that ‘the two-state vision is over’ due to Trump’s election are lying to the constituents. The president-elect is far from having consolidated his political and security stances, and the only thing that can be said thus far about Trump is that he is a leader whose opinion is consistently changing. I suggest that my friends on the right hold off the celebrations. Not only is the two-state vision not over with Trump’s election, rather it is the only solution to the Palestinian issue.”
(Zionist Union MK Eyal Ben-Reuven, on what Trump means for the peace process, according to Channel 10 News)
“There is a hope that is common to Israel under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Egypt under President Sisi, with Saudi Arabia under King Salman, and with the United Arab Emirates under Mohammed bin Zayed. All of these leaders are hoping for a United States that will lead them against the twin radical threats of ISIS and Iranian imperialism.”
(Former Director-General of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dore Gold writing in the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs on the role of the US in the Middle East, 10/11/2016)
“Under Trump relations between US and Israel are likely to be smoother than under Obama. However, in an underlying sense Israel will be less secure. There are three reasons for this: first, Trump’s erratic temperament, second his extensive flip-flopping on policy to the Middle East and third and most importantly, his isolationist instincts.”
(Jonathan Rynhold in The Conversation on Donald Trump’s victory in the US Presidential election, 9/11/2016)
