www.jerusalemonline.com—Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman refuses to expose the names of moderate Arab leaders he met in an attempt to fulfill his “regional agreement” vision, Channel 2 News reported last week. The former foreign minister’s talks included discussion on transferring several Israeli Arab towns to Palestinian sovereignty. He says the elections prevented any major breakthrough and brought his efforts to a halt. If the elections hadn’t been forced, “We would probably have had an agreement made this year,” he said.

Before the government’s dissolution, Lieberman had gone to several European cities, including Vienna and Paris, accompanied by Mossad officials. His strategy was to bypass PA leader Abu Mazen, whom he perceived as too weak to be able to make any significant decisions.

By Omri Ariel