PM: Anti-Israel boycott efforts 'immoral and unjustified'

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Boycott campaign will not succeed, no pressure will make me concede Israel's vital interests • U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at Munich Security Conference: Status quo cannot be maintained, it's not sustainable. Shlomo Cesana, Eli Leon, Mati Tuchfeld, Gideon Allon and News Agencies Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Anti-Israel boycott efforts are "immoral and unjust" | Photo credit: AFP << 1 2 >> Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that anti-Israel boycott efforts are "immoral and unjust." Speaking at Sunday's cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said the boycott efforts would not achieve their goal. Netanyahu said the boycotts "cause the Palestinians to adhere to their intransigent positions and thus push peace further away." "No pressure will cause me to concede the vital interests of the State of Israel, especially the security of Israel's citizens," he said. Netanyahu's comments came a day after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned that Israel may face a torrent of boycotts should the ongoing peace negotiations with the Palestinians fail. Speaking at the annual Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Kerry said, "You see, for Israel, there's an increasing delegitimization campaign that has been building up. People are very sensitive to it. There is talk of boycotts and other kinds of things. Are we all going to be better with all of that? "Today's status quo absolutely, to a certainty, I promise you 100 percent, cannot be maintained. It's not sustainable. It's illusionary. There's a momentary prosperity, there's a momentary peace. … But the fact is the status quo will change if there is failure. So everybody has a stake in trying to find the pathway to success." Credit: Reuters Kerry's statements prompted criticism in Israel. "Kerry should be pressuring the Palestinians," a political official in Jerusalem said. "His statements are doing [the peace process] little good, since all they do is make [the Palestinians] harden their rejectionist positions." A number of Likud and Habayit Hayehudi political figures came out strongly against Kerry. On Sunday, Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz called Kerry's words "intolerable" and said Israel "would not negotiate with a gun to our heads." In a Facebook post on Saturday, Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett (Habayit Hayehudi) said, "The nation of Israel is stronger than the threats against her. Never has a nation abandoned their land because of economic threats. We are no different. "Only security will ensure economic stability. Not a terrorist state next to Ben-Gurion Airport. We expect our friends around the world to stand beside us, against anti-Semitic boycott efforts targeting Israel, and not for them to be their amplifier. We have always known how to stay strong and today we will know how to remain strong." Housing Minister Uri Ariel (Habayit Hayehudi) slammed Kerry's statement, saying, "The only illusions are the peace slogans Kerry is trying to pawn off on Israel. The Palestinian cannot believe their good fortune, ending up with such an 'impartial' mediator." Deputy Transportation Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) said, "Kerry's threats of an unprecedented boycott are an attempt to terrorize Israel into agreeing to a dangerous deal. A deal that would pose a security risk to Israel is worse than any boycott." Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon (Likud) said that while Israel "respects" Kerry, "friends do not issue ultimatums when it comes to Israel's security." MK Ofir Akunis (Likud), a deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Office, said that "Kerry is promoting aggressive policies which only push peace further away. We were here before John Kerry and we will be here after him as well." "Kerry is tirelessly meddling in Israeli politics," a Likud source said. "This goes beyond harsh words and the threats he made against Israel, but also the leaks of the [framework deal] document in the very week there was a crisis with Habayit Hayehudi." Opposition MKs, however, opted to heed Kerry's warning. "Israel is facing an economic tsunami," MK Nachman Shai (Labor) said. "The boycotts against us have crossed the point of no return. This nightmare is coming true as we speak and this dense government refuses to see it." Meretz Chairwoman MK Zehava Gal-On warned that Israel "might soon find itself isolated and ostracized, like Cuba and South Africa." It appears that Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Finance Minister Yair Lapid are inclined to agree with Kerry's proposal, which he intends to present as a framework deal that would facilitate extending the window for the peace talks to the end of 2014. Sources familiar with the issue hedged that the document would not be presented to the government, but rather to the faction heads, a move which would allow Bennett to oppose it without resigning from the government. The Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams were set to meet in Munich on Sunday afternoon. Ya'alon and U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met in Bavaria on Saturday evening. According to sources in the defense minister's office, Ya'alon recent critical statements on Kerry were not discussed in the meeting. Livni, who heads the Israeli negotiating team, received compliments Friday from an unlikely source -- former head of Saudi intelligence Prince Turki Al-Faisal, who told her, "Now that I have met you here I understand why you are the Israeli negotiator, and I hope that with this matter is in your hands it will not be so difficult with Netanyahu." Back to home page | Newsletters from: