RAMALLAH – A senior Israeli official on Tuesday said that the chances of a diplomatic breakthrough between his country and the Palestinians are nil. Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said in an interview with Israel radio that a final status agreement with the Palestinians was “impossible” because conditions are not ripe for achieving a comprehensive peace. Lieberman, former foreign minister of ruling Likud-Beiteinu party, said that all attempts to expedite peace talks with the Palestinian Authority were “doomed to failure.” He also addressed the Syrian conflict and Iran's nuclear program. Palestinian and Israeli negotiators met for the sixth round of talks since negotiations were restarted at the end of July in Washington in an attempt to solve the final status issues; Jerusalem, refugees, boundaries, settlements and security. Lieberman's remarks comes a day after the Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization's Executive Committee, Yasser Abed Rabbo, said that the current peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel were unlikely to succeed. Abed Rabbo told the Voice of Palestine Radio that “the negotiations make no virtual progress on the ground and there is almost no possibility for their success.” He added that “the only progress is made in the settlements and their expansion and more Israeli violations.” Since the relaunch of peace talks, Israel announced plans to build more than 2,100 new homes in the settlements. For its part, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that “Israel's daily practices of settlement, Judaization and aggression against the Palestinian people, which are carried out in broad daylight, will lead to the failure and destruction of the negotiations.” The ministry called on Israelis to “raise your voices against occupation and settlements.” It urged the international community, especially the US Administration, to “act immediately to stop this aggression, which destroys chances for peace and paves the way for plunging the region into violence.” The ministry called on all human rights and legal organizations to follow the Israeli “violations” in preparation for prosecuting Israelis before international courts. Meanwhile, Israeli forces operating in several West Bank areas arrested 17 “wanted” Palestinians, Palestinian and Israeli sources said. The Palestinian sources said that the residents were arrested in the al-Aroub refugee camp, north of Hebron. The sources added that the soldiers thoroughly searched the houses of detainees before arresting them. The spokesman of Israeli army said that the detainees were wanted by the Israeli security forces over hurling stones at a military tower at the entrance of the camp The spokesman added that the detainees were taken to unknown locations for questioning by the Israeli internal intelligence service Shin Bet.
