Lieberman: Erase Word “Freeze” From Vocabulary in “Israel”

"Israeli" Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called on Wednesday for the word "freeze" to be erased from the vocabulary in "Israel", as he repeated his opposition to new curbs on settlement construction.

His comments come as the United States drafts a package of incentives intended to convince "Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to re-impose a ban on settlement construction that expired in September.

The Palestinians have refused to continue direct peace talks that started shortly before the ban expired until the moratorium is re-imposed, but many in "Israel", including ultra-nationalist Lieberman, oppose any new freeze.

"I think, like many others, that there will not be another freeze. We must erase the word freeze from our vocabulary," he told "Israeli" public radio. "We saw what the previous 10-month freeze got us -- it didn't achieve a breakthrough in the negotiations," said the chief diplomat. Lieberman added there was "a growing consensus that it is impossible to reach a definitive peace deal in a year."