The Algemeiner reports: Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman offered an optimistic outlook on Thursday regarding his country’s efforts to forge better ties with its neighbors.

“The word ‘peace’ is not relevant in the Middle East,” Lieberman said during a Kol Chai radio interview, according to the Hebrew news site nrg. “I’m talking about regional understandings. I reiterate: We’ve never been closer to a regional arrangement with moderate Arab countries and have never been so far from a deal of any sort with the Palestinians.”

“For the first time,” Lieberman went on to say, “those in the moderate Arab world have realized that the true danger to their rule is not Israel, but rather Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda and ISIS.”

Read more here.