New Israeli Ambassador says ME peace depends on militias disarmament

The new Israeli Ambassador to Malta, Gideon Meir, presented his credentials to President Eddie Fenech Adami yesterday, formally assuming his duties here.

Mr Meir had postings in London and Quebec and was deputy director-general for media and public affairs in the Israeli Foreign Ministry before being appointed ambassador to Italy and Malta. He is resident in Rome.

Speaking to The Times, Mr Meir said that during his term of office he wanted to improve economic and cultural ties between the two countries, but it was too early to speak about specific plans.

"From a meeting I had with friends of Israel on Wednesday night, as well as meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister yesterday I was pleasantly surprised by the warmth of the people here and the enthusiasm there is," he said.

On the Middle East situation, Mr Meir said it was very clear that "if Arabs in the region laid down their arms, there would be peace but if Israel laid down its weapons, there would be no Israel anymore".

"Israel likes to live in peace. The peace process cannot take place unless the militias are disarmed. Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had agreed to have a two-state solution so that Israel and the Palestinians could live in harmony. But the Palestinian state has to stop supporting terrorism," he said.

Mr Meir said the key to peace in the region was "for wealthy Arab states to support the Palestinian economy and to get people out of the camps. Instead, they keep investing in weapons," he said.

The ambassador said the President of the Palestinian Authority, Abu Mazen (also known as Mahmoud Abbas), was "a good partner to work with but his government was very extreme and though elected democratically, there was no real democracy as there was no real opposition, no alternative to the government, no free press and no voices of dissent in Palestine".