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Last update - 03:26 11/12/2008
Netanyahu to Haaretz: Likud is behind me; Feiglin will soon disappear
By Yossi Verter and Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondents
Tags: Israel News 

Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu reassured his supporters on Wednesday after the primary that produced a particularly right-wing list. He has also launched a campaign to calm down the international community and ease concerns about the peace process should Netanyahu become prime minister after the February election.

Concerns increased this week after far-right-winger Moshe Feiglin and many of his supporters did well in the primary.

In a series of consultations, Netanyau said the "Feiglin effect" would fade and the party would soon regain what few Knesset seats it might lose from the recent negative publicity.
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"The entire faction is with me," he told confidants.

"They all called today and expressed their support. Feiglin will fade away very quickly. They can blow it up more and more, but even this lemon doesn't have much juice left in it," he said.

Netanyahu launched a campaign to allay fears in the United States, Europe and the Arab world for the fate of the peace process.

On Thursday, Netanyahu will meet 27 European Union ambassadors to Israel and tell them that he is committed to continuing the peace talks with Syria and the Palestinians.

Netanyahu has recently sent dovish messages to officials in the international community, his aides say. Netanyahu met Egyptian ambassador to Israel Yasser Reda last week and told him that if he won the elections he would not stop the peace process, only add components such as his "economic peace" plan.

He conveyed similar messages to the Czech foreign minister, whose country will take on the rotating EU presidency in January.

The meeting with the EU ambassadors had been scheduled for several weeks ago, but Netanyahu asked to postpone it until after the primary.

Though Netanyahu will assure the ambassadors that he will continue the talks with the Syrians and Palestinians, he will say he needs to study the talks that took place during Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's term, because these negotiations were covert.

Since he is keen to focus on achievements, he will continue negotiations he believes can lead to progress and suspend others, he is expected to say.

Netanyahu will outline his "economic peace" plan and say he wants to raise the Palestinians' living standards, improve their economy, build government institutions and strengthen their defense capabilities.

He will not rule out security cooperation with the Palestinian Authority and passing on more West Bank cities to forces led by PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

He will say that this process, which can lead to faster achievements, will not be at the expense of the peace talks but in addition to them.

This approach is similar to the one favored by Barack Obama's national security adviser James Jones and Quartet envoy Tony Blair, Netanyahu will say, according to his aides.

He will say that in view of Hamas' control of the Gaza Strip, it is difficult to find a partner on the Palestinian side who can assert his authority there. He will urge the international community to join Israel in isolating Hamas.

In recent weeks officials abroad have voiced concerns about Netanyahu's plans on the peace process.

A senior EU official told Haaretz that "Netanyahu's victory [in the election] could strike a fatal blow to the peace process."

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dismissed the "economic peace" plan at a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels last week, saying that the goal is to reach a two-state solution.

Former U.S. president Bill Clinton, whose wife Hillary will be secretary of state under Obama, has also criticized Netanyahu's position. Last week, at the Saban Forum debates in Washington, Clinton said there would be no chance for economic progress in the PA, except as part of talks leading to a comprehensive final settlement.

A source close to Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the fears in Europe and the United States about him stem in part from a campaign Livni's people are conducting overseas.

"They're inciting the whole world against us, spreading fears that we will bring disaster," the source said.

A source close to Livni said that "the world remembers very well who Netanyahu is and needs no reminders of it from us."

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      1.   Proof positive: You can`t trust Bibi 03:04  |  Likudnik 11/12/08
      2.   Netanyahu is making a big mistake 04:12  |  Rabbi Yakov Lazaros 11/12/08
      3.   NATANYAHU IS THE WORST THING FOR LIKUD 05:05  |  Hal Desmond 11/12/08
      4.   Nataniahu/Feiglin 05:38  |  AlexanderZ 11/12/08
      5.   Netanyahu is a liar 05:48  |  Robert 11/12/08
      6.   WHO WILL PREVENT FURTHER ISRAELI CONCESSIONS? 06:53  |  Steve 11/12/08
      7.   wow, he really does sound like Olmert 07:34  |  Jon 11/12/08
      8.   Did I read this article correctly ? 08:06  |  eli 11/12/08
      9.   Netanyahu and Feiglin 08:28  |  DT 11/12/08
      10.   Netanyahu will not be PM if he acts like a lefty traitor! 08:34  |  BB dont be stupid 11/12/08
      11.   Why vote for Natanyahu for the same Policies 08:40  |  Honesty 11/12/08
      12.   That is so good!!! 08:43  |  Northern 11/12/08
      13.   Bibbi would do better if he would not fall onto the trap 08:44  |  Zev 11/12/08
      14.   Are we seeing the New Natanyahu emerge? 08:54  |  Jeremy 11/12/08
      15.   Vote FEIGLIN. 09:09  |  The Threadmill 11/12/08
      16.   Bibi - cannot be trusted 09:19  |  Rachel 11/12/08
      17.   Who voted for Netanyahu? 09:40  |  Paul 11/12/08
      18.   Democracy? 09:51  |  Jeffrey 11/12/08
      19.   The problem with Bibi 09:58  |  Avi 11/12/08
      20.   When silence is a sin 10:00  |  devorah 11/12/08
      21.   Netanyahu needs to relax, Likud is in good hands now 10:06  |  Harvey 11/12/08
      22.   He won`t continue any talks .... 10:12  |  Jew 11/12/08
      23.   He`d better oust him... 10:45  |  tristan 11/12/08
      24.   Feiglin will not disappear. 11:22  |  Josephus 11/12/08
      25.   MORE of the TRUTH 11:45  |  Josephus 11/12/08
      26.   i agree it`s how you align yourself 11:45  |  guiseppe 11/12/08
      27.   Tristan, who had better oust who? 11:48  |  Harvey 11/12/08
      28.   to Jeffrey #18 12:26  |  Northern 11/12/08
      29.   Bibi Will be PM, Feiglinites Can Form Their Own Party -- Please! 12:47  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 11/12/08
      30.   Cipora, where are you....????? 13:49  |  Swiss (Dino) 11/12/08
      31.   `I am not my Brother`s Keeper` 14:07  |  The Truthful one 11/12/08
      32.   BIBI GET FINANCE PORTFOLIO IN FEIGLIN GOV.PEACE PROCESS DANGEROUS 14:46  |  THE DEEP VOICE)))))) 11/12/08
      33.   The Elites are terrified of Moshe Feiglin 14:52  |  Jo 11/12/08
      34.   Don`t worry 15:21  |  Mark Lincoln 11/12/08
      35.   May I say a different word? DOWN WITH FEIGLIN + his supporters!!! 15:30  |  S 11/12/08
      36.   Reply to Jeffrey (Post 18) 16:34  |  Johnny Weintraub 11/12/08
      37.   S #35 16:43  |  Gee 11/12/08
      38.   BIBI, YOU ARE A GENIUS 17:04  |  indrajaya 11/12/08
      39.   Bibi 17:14  |  Barrie 11/12/08
      40.   Giving thenPalestinians more of what they already have..... 18:00  |  Notorious 11/12/08
      41.   Lost my vote 18:05  |  David Scott 11/12/08
      42.   Gee #37 and almost everybody else are NOT behind Netanyahu! 18:24  |  S 11/12/08
      43.   netanyahu does not believe in a democratic vote? 18:26  |  yahn goodey 11/12/08
      44.   #35 S -- not alone -- most think like you 18:27  |  peaceship 11/12/08
      45.   please Bibi,when !!!!! 18:31  |  drdanielito 11/12/08
      46.   Has there ever been a Time when Palestinians were not crying,,,, 18:50  |  Natasha 11/12/08
      47.   #44 peaceship - Of course I am not alone but 18:56  |  S 11/12/08
      48.   Bibi OUT! 19:18  |  Misterknowall 11/12/08
      49.   Bibi Doesn`t Get It 19:18  |  Mark of Lewiston 11/12/08
      50.   Emperor Bibi 19:27  |  Yankee 11/12/08
      51.   re: Bibi tells Haaretz 20:21  |  U Go 11/12/08
      52.   To peaceship # 44 - All Israel is not Left but RIGHT.... 20:22  |  The Threadmill 11/12/08
      53.   This is absurd and very frightening! 20:38  |  Magnus K. 11/12/08
      54.   As long as Bibi heads the Likud , The party`agenda 20:56  |  Joseph.E 11/12/08
      55.   By this vision Natanyahu is a responciple leader 21:14  |  Gamal 11/12/08
      56.   #47 S -- it`s frightening but not representative 21:27  |  peaceship 11/12/08
      57.   #47 and furthermore 21:30  |  peaceship 11/12/08
      58.   What a shame 21:55  |  what to do 11/12/08
      59.   Netanyahu, are you the leader of the party or not? 22:17  |  Pablo B 11/12/08
      60.   the eu should mind its own business 22:21  |  harzion 11/12/08
      61.   for any who believe Bi Bi and Ol` Merde are the same, 22:40  |  Big Sur 11/12/08
      62.   Bibi has strapped roller skates on 23:50  |  Mark Lincoln 11/12/08
      63.   Dino #30 23:59  |  JoJo 11/12/08
      64.   Bibi and Feiglin no threat to peace, just the Pals themselves 00:09  |  Joe Sittizen 12/12/08
      65.   Suppose Bibi will win and... 01:50  |  Fortuna Benmayor 12/12/08
      66.   Kadima and Labor should merge and stop the fanatics. 01:51  |  Fortuna Benmayor 12/12/08
      67.   Why - Fortuna Benmayor 02:13  |  Mark Lincoln 12/12/08
      68.   # 63 JoJo 02:22  |  Swiss (Dino) 12/12/08
      69.   THAT resolved need to focus on BNP,Hamas ,Euro & Swiss racists 04:10  |  PETER SM 12/12/08
      70.   Likud Does Not Support Bibi 08:10  |  Baruch Gold 12/12/08
      71.   When will they ever learn? 09:01  |  Moshe 12/12/08
      72.   Feiglin`s demotion to 36 is Bibi`s mafia tactics 11:00  |  Harvey 12/12/08
      73.   #56 peaceship I like the way you think... 11:52  |  S 12/12/08
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