Some apparent double-talk from new Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Here's MSNBC:
Benjamin Netanyahu, taking office as Israel's new leader Tuesday, promised to seek "full peace" with the Arab and Muslim world, but refused to utter the words the world was waiting to hear: "Palestinian state."
"Under the permanent status agreement, the Palestinians will have all the authority to rule themselves," Netanyahu said in comments that appeared to hark back to a decades-old notion that peace could be achieved through limited Palestinian autonomy.
He's claiming he wants "full peace" but he refuses to acknowledge the need for an independent Palestinian state free of occupation and oppression from a foreign power. Surely he must experience some cognitive dissonance. Trouble is, Netanyahu has explicitly pointed out on numerous occasions that he has no intention of recognizing a Palestinian state, and considers any attempt at a peace process a "waste of time."
He's also compared Iran to Nazi Germany on several occasions. Of course, no one in their right mind should defend Ahmadinejad's ridiculous rhetoric, but he has nevertheless shown no explicit intention of attacking Israel. Israel, however, has been looking for a way to attack Iran for some time now. These accusations by Netanyahu put a poison pill in an already bitter and tense relationship. It's also rich for a country that illegally built nuclear weapons to label another country that may or may not intend to do the same as Nazi Germany.
One of the biggest tragedies of the recent Gaza conflict was its timing; otherwise I would easily bet that Tzipi Livni would be serving as prime minister. She comes with her own set of problems but she's nowhere near the hawk Netanyahu is.
Netanyahu's big sell is that he's a tough guy who the Israeli people think will protect them. But there's nothing more dangerous to Israelis than a leader who will categorically oppose any opportunity for them to move toward peace. From the same MSNBC article:
His words drew a sharp reaction from Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. "I want to say to Mr. Netanyahu that the only way the Palestinians can rule themselves, by themselves, is through ending the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 and establishing an independent Palestinian state," Erekat said.
Absolutely correct. I don't see any other way.
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