Monday, August 1, 2016

Netanyahu's New and Dishonest Vision of Peace: Without the Palestinians


Daniel Levy, "Netanyahu's New and Dishonest Vision of Peace: Without the Palestinians," haaretz.com

Image from article, with caption: [Egyptian] Foreign Minister Shoukry, left, with Netanyahu in Jerusalem, July 10, 2016.

As Israel and various Arab states cosy up, anti-normalization looks like ancient history. Can the Palestinians really be sidelined so easily and comprehensively?

Excerpt:
Appearing before a meeting of the Knesset State Control Committee on the Foreign Ministry and Israel’s public diplomacy last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Israel's international standing is on an upward trajectory. For understandable reasons the Prime Minister may have been somewhat embellishing his track record . ...
The distilled essence of Israel’s policy towards the Palestinians is to guarantee continued impunity and to avoid costs and consequences. The Arab states, if effectively nudged by a new Palestinian strategy and especially once exposed by their newly enhanced ties to Israel, are well placed to challenge Netanyahu's preferred formula with some disincentives of their own - not only insisting on more for more but also imposing genuine costs if Israel maintains its rejectionist path.

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