Livni: Bennett's plan for annexation of Area C won't be realized as long as I'm around

In response to the Bennett's Facebook status saying he would push for unilateral action, Livni says his pledge to act "will amount to nothing."

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni 370 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni 370
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Justice Minister and Israeli's chief negotiator Tzipi Livni came down hard on Economy Minsiter Naftali Bennett's declaration of support for a unilateral move to annex parts of the West Bank, in an interview with Channel 2 on Friday night.
"A unilateral move to annex Area C will not happen as long as I'm in the government," she said, adding that Bennett's pledge to act with all his might in a post published on his Facebook page Friday afternoon "will amount to nothing more than a Facebook status."
She said that a settlement freeze of the smaller West Bank outposts would help bring about more international support for Israel than annexation and that Bennett's support for the annexation of Area C was "dangerous and irresponsible."
Livni also responded to allegations made in recent days that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu threatened to fire her over an impromptu meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in London last week.
"Negotiations are impossible through third party channels and intelligence reports alone," she said.
Livni said that despite reports to the contrary, the prime minister was aware of the meeting, but nonetheless her "participation in this government is not a 'Catholic wedding,'" indicating that her presence in the coalition is not set in stone.
"I'm happy that I did it," she said. "It was an official meeting that represented the interests of Israel."
The justice minister said that she wanted to hear from Abbas about his plans, how he sees things, and to express her opinions to him on the Fatah-Hamas unity deal.
Livni kept mum on the more in-depth details of their conversation, but did say that her takeaway from the conversation was that peace is not around the corner and there is still have a long way to go.