BICOM

Israeli opposition party leader Tzipi Livni addressed the conference of the pro-Israel lobby group, AIPAC, yesterday in Washington. In her address, Livni said that the only way to maintain Israel as a national home of the Jewish people was for Israel to adopt the vision of a two-state solution with the Palestinians. Livni told the audience that Israel and the US must work together to confront the challenges that Israel faces in the Middle East. She stressed that Israel must take the lead in the diplomatic process or else it will face decisions about its future against its will. Stressing her point, the opposition leader said the lack of a diplomatic process to solve the conflict could not remain an option for Israel. ‘If we won’t shape our future – others will do it for us,” Livni said.

Livni also emphasised that peace could not be negotiated with Hamas, as the organisation is yet to accept the Quartet conditions that call for the recognition of Israel and renouncement of violence. She also called the Palestinian strategy to gain statehood recognition from the United Nations in September as an ‘obstacle to peace’.