(Communicated by the Foreign Minister's Bureau)
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Liberman met this afternoon (Wednesday 18 November 2009) with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Jerusalem. The two ministers discussed bilateral and regional issues, including Iran, Syria, Lebanon and the situation with the Palestinians.
FM Liberman stated that the Gilo neighborhood is an integral part of Jerusalem and Israel, and is in that respect identical to Tel Aviv and Herzliya. FM Liberman added that all the procedures required for issuing building permits in Gilo are carried out in accordance with the law by the planning and building committee, and the government does not intend to intervene in the process, which strictly adheres to the procedural regulations of the State of Israel.
FM Liberman thanked FM Kouchner for France's fundamental and consistent position regarding the necessity of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.