Bibi’s Dance
Does Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have a tough job, or what?
Even the American presidency in some ways would seem like a vacation (hey, no Obama jokes) to Netanyahu, or any Israeli PM. The job is, shall we say, supernaturally difficult.
Besides ongoing domestic issues, Netanyahu of late has also been challenged by Russia and the U.S. Although his relationship with Donald Trump is infinitely better than it was with the menacing Obama, Netanyahu still operates under the pressure brought by the disastrous Oslo Accords.
This week came reports that U.S. envoy Jason Greenblatt demanded a “settlement freeze” in some parts of Judea and Samaria.
Of course, Israel is denying this.
It appears that despite what appears to be genuine affection between the two countries again, after eight years of Obama, the world is still locked into the “two-state solution” delusion. The Trump administration is no different, and one wonders how much influence here Jared Kushner, Trump’s senior advisor/son-in-law, is having. Remember, though the Trumps seem to be decent people, Kushner and his wife, Ivanka, are both Millennials with more moderate views than the readers of this column.
One kind of person in the world believes the Bible is true and authoritative, and another kind of person doesn’t necessarily believe that. That’s why land-for-peace makes perfect sense to a person who wouldn’t view the Bible “title deed” as something based in reality. Further, moderates today have sympathy for the Palestinian people, and believe this branch of the Arab family tree deserves a state carved from the middle of Israel.
Thus the settlement freeze demands continue.
We already know the Trump team is aiming to restart negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians. This is a recipe for failure, as always, and is very disappointing coming from the new administration.
According to the Jerusalem Post:
“On March 14, Greenblatt held a five-hour meeting with the premier, ending with Israel stating its commitment to finding a true, sustainable peace agreement and acknowledging the need to improve living conditions within the Palestinian Authority.
“According to a statement put out by the Prime Minister’s Office, the two men affirmed the joint commitment of the US and Israel to advancing a ‘true, sustainable peace between Israel and the Palestinians that will strengthen Israel’s security and stability in the region.’
“Greenblatt later met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, after which the Trump representative wrote on Twitter that their meeting was ‘positive’ and ‘far-reaching,’ and that they discussed forging a peace deal, stopping incitement and building the capacity of the PA security forces.”
This is very disappointing. The Israelis are again forced to sit down with Abbas, who is nothing more than a terrorist in a suit. The charade continues.
On another front, Netanyahu is dealing with Russian demands after action in Syria, in which IAF planes struck targets of weapons shipments for Hezbollah. The Russians, who have now gone back to being a major player in the Middle East, thanks to Obama’s purposeful weakness, have told Netanyahu to stand down.
Fat chance.
While he will dance the diplomatic dance, Netanyahu will do what he has to do to protect his people. Engagement militarily with regional enemies is just part of the job.
For now, he is forced to deal with military and diplomatic threats at the same time.
This comes in an environment in which international jihadist terrorism is on the rise. The world does not get at all what it takes to defeat such a vicious and determined enemy. The London attack this week was committed by a Muslim terrorist, Khalid Masood. An American, Kurt Cochran, was murdered by Masood; Cochran’s wife, Melissa was injured when the ISIS demon plowed his car into a crowd near the British Parliament.
The usual delusional media reports appeared and signaled that the global community has no clue how to win this war.
Benjamin Netanyahu does.