Israeli envoys bashed by security

JERUSALEM

Israel’s national security advisor Amidror defends PM Netanyahu’s policies. AFP photo

Israel’s national security adviser told a group of Israeli ambassadors and diplomats Dec. 31 that if they did not agree with the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, they should either “quit or go into politics,” according to daily Haaretz.

Israel’s envoy to the United Nations, Ron Prosor, asked why the government had announced its plans to advance construction projects a day after Palestine was granted non-member observer state status. A number of diplomats applauded Prosor after his comment, the daily reported.

‘Losses from UN process’

Ya’akov Amidror, speaking during a lecture at the Foreign Ministry’s annual conference, said angrily that in the British or American foreign ministries, nobody would applaud a question that hinted at criticism of those governments’ diplomacies.

Amidror added that the decision for new settlement projects had been made to clarify to the Palestinians that there were losses to be had from the U.N. process. The Foreign Ministry’s deputy director general, Ran Curiel, tried to calm the room down, telling Amidror that the applause was not directed against the government but rather expressed the diplomats’ frustration at having no way to explain the decision on behalf of Israel. Amidror responded furiously.

“Whoever dislikes the government’s policies can quit or go into politics. I am a clerk, and you are clerks, and we represent the government. Our job is to advise, and in the end, the leaders make the decisions.”