Arab League: Lieberman changes Israel`s tone, not policy

The head of the Arab League on Thursday said the appointment of Avigdor Lieberman as foreign minister changed Israel's tone rather than its policy toward the Palestinians and the peace process.

Secretary-General Amr Moussa told a news conference at Arab League headquarters in Cairo that the previous government headed by Ehud Olmert had not abided by agreements on settlement building in the West Bank and had ignored an Arab peace initiative.

"In my opinion, the previous government of Israel did not honor the understandings on which the Annapolis [peace] conference and process was based," Moussa said. "What the new foreign minister in Israel is saying is putting that in a blunt, very aggressive way."

"The new style of talking is just a new style. It does not initiate a new position. We know the Israeli position is negative when it comes to peace, when it comes to initiatives of peace," he said.

On his first day in office at the foreign ministry on Wednesday, Lieberman said the U.S.-sponsored Annapolis declaration of 2007 "has no validity," confirming a shift in Israel's stance toward the Palestinians under Netanyahu.

The Annapolis understanding, between then-U.S. President George W. Bush, Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, sought to advance final status talks over borders and the fate of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.

Moussa said the Arab League had not changed its policy toward Israel since Netanyahu's election in February and the formation of his government this week.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit earlier on Thursday said he would not shake Lieberman's hand until the latter reconsiders his positions.

"As long as Lieberman's positions stay the same, if we see each other by chance at a meeting, I will keep my hands in my pockets," Aboul Gheit said in an interview with Cairo's al-Mehwar satellite station that was taped on Thursday morning for broadcast that night.

Lieberman said Thursday that Israel was not bound by the internationally endorsed Annapolis peace process, launched in November 2007, which revived Israeli-Palestinian peace talks which entered a hiatus only when Israel entered an election period last year.

"The Egyptian foreign minister must uphold the dignity of Egypt," Aboul Gheit told the host of al-Mehwar's talk-show "48 Hours" on Thursday, according to a transcript of the remarks obtained by the German News Agency DPA.

"Whoever insults the dignity of Egypt must face the consequences and accept responsibility for his words," Aboul Gheit said.

Last year, Lieberman criticized Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in a speech before the Knesset, saying that the Egyptian leader could "go to hell".

"In 30 years of peace with Israel, I have met with more than one Israeli foreign minister, and I have welcomed them in Egypt," Aboul- Gheit continued. "But never before have any of them said anything like what [Lieberman] said against Egypt."

"[Lieberman] is man who must reconsider how his brain communicates with his tongue," Aboul Gheit said.

Clinton phones Liberman

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Lieberman early Thursday, according to Lieberman spokeswoman Irena Etinger. The conversation was conducted in a "good atmosphere," and the two agreed to meet as soon as possible, Etinger said. She would not say what issues were discussed.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood confirmed the call. When asked about Lieberman's comments, Wood reiterated the American commitment to a two-state solution.

"Our position is well known by all of the players in the Israeli government," Wood said. "Certainly Foreign Minister Lieberman is well aware of what our position is."