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David Howell Petraeus was in Jerusalem this week. His self-declared private visit included a meeting with Israel's Minister of Defense, Avigdor Lieberman.

Several news agencies in Israel reported on the meeting.

According to Ha'aretz, Israel's rough equivalent of the New York Times, Lieberman told Petraeus "there is no chance of reaching a bilateral agreement between Israel and the Palestinians."

Israel Hayom, a conservative and generally pro-Netanyahu paper, said the same but framed it in a more positive light.

According to Lieberman, the success of such a coalition would serve as a basis for reaching a settlement between Israel and Arab states in the region. He said such a settlement would include a solution to the Palestinian conflict within the framework of land swaps and population transfers.

YNet News echoed the report by its competitors, noting that the Defense Minister characterized a regional approach as what is "needed most" by Israel from the new US administration of President Donald Trump.

Using terminology from Trump's inauguration speech last Friday, Lieberman suggested the US establish an "Anti-Terror Coalition [that includes] moderate Arab states and Israel in [the] fight against radical Islamic terror.

And, YNet added...

Lieberman stressed that there is no possibility of a bilateral agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

He said such an arrangement has been tried and failed several times in the past 24 years; and

Resolving conflict will come only as part of a comprehensive regional settlement.

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Brian Schrauger is the Editor-in-Chief of the Jerusalem Journal. He can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.