Lapid met in Paris on Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron, who called on Lapid to revive talks toward peace with the Palestinians and said Israelis are “lucky” to have Lapid in charge. Two state solution on deck?
Emmanuel Macron is on a tear this week, with a real, old-fashioned ‘barn burner’ of a schedule lately and he seems to be popping up everywhere to talk about everything with just about everyone of any political importance at all. Particularly of note is the meeting he had with interim prime minister of Israel, Yair Lapid, who chose to visit with Macron as his first trip abroad. Kind of tells you who is perceived as having the most influence and power in Europe, don’t you think? Lapid could have met with anyone, he chose Emmanuel Macron who wants to divide Israel to create a Palestinian state. So does Lapid.
I went to Macron’s Twitter channel yesterday, to thank him for always saying and doing things that validate our opinion of him as the biblical man of sin, no kidding, I actually did that. Just do a search on Macron, and you will see him popping up here, here, here, here and here, and that’s not even the half of it. The Two State Solution is right around the corner...
FROM VOA NEWS: Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Tuesday used his first trip abroad since taking office to urge world powers to step up pressure on Iran over its nuclear activities, calling the Islamic republic a threat to regional stability. Lapid, who took office Friday, focused on Israel’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the stalled global deal aimed at curbing them. Israel accuses Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons — a charge Iran denies — and says the tattered nuclear deal doesn’t include sufficient safeguards to halt Iran’s progress toward making a bomb.
“The current situation cannot continue as it is. It will lead to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, which would threaten world peace. We must all work together to stop that from happening,” Lapid told reporters.
He and Macron, both centrists, called each other friends, but disagreed over the Iran nuclear deal. The 2015 deal offered Iran relief from economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear activities. In 2018, then President Donald Trump, with strong Israeli backing, withdrew from the deal, causing it to unravel. Since then, Iran has stepped up key nuclear activities, including uranium enrichment, well beyond the contours of the original agreement.
Macron called for a return to the 2015 deal, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, but acknowledged that it “will not be enough.” France helped negotiate the deal and is one of the parties in talks aimed at trying to revive it. Israel says that if the agreement is restored, it should include tighter restrictions and address Iran’s non-nuclear military activities across the region.
Lapid will stay in office until the November election and perhaps beyond if no clear winner emerges. Making his first trip abroad as prime minister, Lapid may try to use the meeting with Macron to bolster his credentials as a statesman and alternative to Netanyahu with the Israeli electorate.
Macron used their meeting to urge efforts by Israel toward long-term peace with the Palestinians.
“There is no alternative to a return to political dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians,” he said, to revive “a process that’s been broken for too long.”
Lapid didn’t address Macron’s appeal in their public remarks. Lapid, unlike Netanyahu, supports a two-state solution with the Palestinians. But as a caretaker leader, he isn’t in a position to pursue any major diplomatic initiatives. READ MORE
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