Israeli pacifist attacks gas deal
The main Israeli supporter of the Geneva Initiative – a plan to bring peace to the Middle East - has harshly criticised a gas deal between Switzerland and Iran.
Yossi Beilin also attacked Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, who went to Tehran for the signature of the deal, which is worth at least €10 billion (SFr15.9 billion).
In a letter to Calmy-Rey, he wrote that he found it very hard to accept that she met Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, who is a Holocaust denier and has threatened to destroy Israel.
The pacifist has been involved with the Swiss–backed initiative – a peace plan for Israelis and Palestinians – since its launch in 2003 with Calmy-Rey’s support.
The Geneva Initiative’s office in Tel-Aviv says that Calmy-Rey met Beilin in Bern last week to explain her position, but that they did not reach any understanding on the issue.
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