Israeli Arabs say that the statements by newly appointed minister for strategic threats, Avigdor Lieberman, are rooted in racism and will prevent genuine equality between the Jews and Arabs of Israel.

In an interview published in yesterday's Sunday Telegraph, Lieberman called Israel's Arab minority a "problem" that requires "separation" from the state.

"Until a week ago these were statements by an MK. Today they are those of a deputy prime minister. If there is no appropriate response from [Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert, it means the government is adopting these positions and it will turn into a government with a new, fascist agenda," Hadash party chairman MK Mohammed Barakeh said in response to Lieberman's recent statements.

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MK Nadia Hilu (Labor) criticized Lieberman, saying that even though Labor and Kadima promised that he would accept the government's governing principles, his statements "prove that he has not changed his spots."

Hilu called on Labor to join her in calling for Lieberman's dismissal: "It is inconceivable that he be given legitimacy. The responsibility falls on the entire government," she said.

MK Ibrahim Sarsur, chair of Ra'am-Ta'al, who lives in Kafr Qassem, near the Green Line, said: "I want to remind Lieberman and his kind who is the real owner of the land here. We made a strategic decision to be an integral part of the state of Israel as equal citizens. Anyone who has a problem with that can look elsewhere."

Sarsur warned that government support of Lieberman would cause social ferment among Israeli Arabs. "We don't intend to wake up every morning to the sound of threats like these and to accept them silently," he added.

MK Ahmed Tibi (Ra'am-Ta'al) described Lieberman's statements as "a call for ethnic cleansing. We were here before the immigrant Lieberman, we are the salt of the earth and he is an invading immigrant. [The Israeli Arab cities of] Umm al-Fahm and Taibeh are more authentic and legitimate than Moldova [where Lieberman was born] and Nokdim" - the West Bank settlement where Lieberman now lives.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert rejected Lieberman's comparison of Cyprus and Israel and his call to separate Jews and Arabs. "Lieberman's recommendations are not mine," he said yesterday. "That is not the position of the cabinet and Lieberman knows that. I am in favor of full equal rights for Israeli Arabs and I have never concealed this."

Defense Minister Amir Peretz said that Lieberman's remarks "are causing superfluous agitation. The government must denounce such statements."

Tourism Minister Isaac Herzog said that Labor Party ministers held an in-depth discussion yesterday and a decision was made to denounce Lieberman's remarks.

"We see them as totally unacceptable," Herzog said. Anyone familiar with the situation in Cyprus knows just how inappropriate it is for Israel."

He added that he and his fellow Laborites expect Olmert to take a clear stand on the issue and to clarify the subject at length with Lieberman.

MK Dov Khenin (Hadash) called for the immediate dismissal of Lieberman from the government.

MK Benny Elon (National Union-National Religious Party) reacted by saying that such a recommendation "is populist and impractical. It is intended to satisfy the Jewish public, which polls have shown are more aggravated by Israeli Arabs than by Arabs from the territories."

In a recent interview to Haaretz, Elon said: "I don't think Israeli Arabs are the root of the problem. They are, after all, a minority. As a first stage we have to solve the relationship between us and the Palestinians, and only after that to take care of the relationship with Israel's Arabs."

The Abraham Fund Initiatives, which promotes Jewish-Arab cooperation in Israel, also called on Olmert to clarify further his government's position on Lieberman's statements, and stated: "The idea that separation between Jews and Arabs will lead to stability is completely untenable, since ethnic separation contributes to the radicalization and continuation of conflicts."

"The Israeli government must act swiftly and unconditionally to effect the full integration of the Arab minority into Israeli society because that is the only way to achieve social, economic and security-related stability over time," they said.

The Sunday Telegraph had quoted Lieberman as saying: "We established Israel as a Jewish country. I want to provide an Israel that is a Jewish, Zionist country. It's about what kind of country we want to see in the future. Either it will be an [ethnically mixed] country like any other, or it will continue as a Jewish country."

"Minorities are the biggest problem in the world," he was also quoted as saying.

Asked if Israeli citizens of Arab descent should be forced out of the country via territorial redistribution, he reportedly said: "I think separation between two nations is the best solution."

"Cyprus is the best model," Lieberman said. "Before 1974, the Greeks and Turks lived together and there were frictions and bloodshed and terror. After 1974, they constituted all Turks on one part of the island, all Greeks on the other part of the island and there is stability and security."

Lieberman's theories are part of the platform of his party, Yisrael Beiteinu, and he presented them in various media interviews before the elections last March.

His plan includes a redrawing of the border between the Palestinian Authority and Israel in the Triangle area, in order to effectively annex neighboring Arab locales to the PA.

In addition, Arabs who remain in Israel would be compelled to swear loyalty to the state.