Dan Friedman writes:
Since Netanyahu took office, Caroline Glick has gone from being an admirer to believing he was imperfect but the best choice available, and now she’s come to this:
“With Netanyahu now joining the ranks of those who attack Israel’s defenders as enemies of peace and claim that defending the country is antithetical to peace, who is left to defend us?”
If, as Glick asserts, “most Israelis have had it with the peace paradigm,” Israelis will have little opportunity to express their disapproval outside of taking to the streets. Their political system has no “interim elections” that allow for a mid-course correction. On the contrary, as I suggested earlier, the system gives Netanyahu room to maneuver around the opposition and even strengthen his hand.
Stay tuned. We’re only into the first act of a Greek tragedy and the masks are just coming off.
From Stratfor:
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday said that his country was willing to partition Jerusalem as part of a peace deal with the Palestinians. “West Jerusalem and 12 Jewish neighborhoods that are home to 200,000 residents will be ours. The Arab neighborhoods in which close to a quarter million Palestinians live will be theirs,” Barak was quoted as saying. These remarks come a day before the United States hosts a meeting in Washington between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which will also be attended by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
While not unprecedented, what makes this offer extraordinary is that, save perhaps Barak’s own Labor Party, every other member of the coalition government led by Netanyahu’s Likud Party is dead opposed to giving up even an inch of Jerusalem, which is seen as the undivided capital of Israel. So what is the purpose of issuing such a statement?
I do wish that, Netanyahu, of all leaders(!) would not be so
willing to acquiesce to Palestinian demands to partition Jeru-
salem; such concessions have never worked out well in the
past & I suspect that matters will not go smoothly forward in
this planned course of action. The majority of Palestinians will
view such a concession as a sign of weakness & “victory” for
them–and of course, to the militant faction it is tantamount to
waving a red flag in front of a bull.
In the photo, the only one with his head down is Netanyahu.
Hmmmmmmm.
Sad to see this once proud warrior bowing his head (in shame or sorrow?) in the company of those who are asking him to sit
down & talk peace with those whose sole aim is the complete & total annihilation of his nation & all Jews worldwide. How does one trust the “honor” of those who choose to target innocents in their killing rampage, or those who use times of peace to stockpile their weapons & plan future attacks?