Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday distanced himself from the letter penned by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to the Mideast Quartet, which called for the removal of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

“The Foreign Minister’s letter does not represent the position of the prime minister or that of the government,” said a senior official in Netanyahu’s office.

“The prime minister agrees that Abu Mazen (Abbas) creates difficulties in negotiations but he intends on continuing efforts to promote dialogue with the Palestinians,” the official said.

The Prime Minister’s Office also stressed that “Israel does not intervene in internal politics in other places.”

In his letter, Lieberman called on the Quartet to press for new elections in the Palestinian Authority to replace Abbas, whom he described as an obstacle to peace.

For more go to Haaretz.com

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