by Shlomo Cesana
The decision to release
104 Palestinian terrorists has been characterized by Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu's confidantes as a "diplomatic necessity." This
painful step led to the renewal of serious peace negotiations with
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, without having to freeze
settlement construction or commit to the 1967 borders. This was a smart
move, yet a majority of the Israeli public views the decision to release
terrorists with blood on their hands as a mistake that carries too high
a price.
It was futile to try to
make the release more palatable by dividing it into four stages. Any
student of history, like the prime minister is, should remember the
dynamic of the Oslo Accords. Gaza and Jericho first? Those were merely
words. Once the "process" gets going, no one is capable of taking
responsibility for halting it.
Netanyahu is now paying
a price for the public's lack of confidence in disproportionate
gestures made toward the Palestinians. The public wants to know what
Israel is getting in return. Are the Palestinians finally willing to
accept Netanyahu's list of conditions and sign a permanent peace deal?
Will they recognize Israel as a Jewish state? Will they agree to Israel
having defensible borders? Will they give up on Jerusalem and the right
of return?
Netanyahu deserves credit for his effort to reach a peace agreement, even if few believe that it can happen.
Meanwhile, Habayit
Hayehudi leader Naftali Bennett is trying to have it all. Bennett is not
able to take responsibility for decisions he makes. "I and my party's
ministers voted no," Bennett wrote on his Facebook page about the
decision to release Palestinian terrorists, hoping that the public would
click "Like" and forget about his overall responsibility as a minister
in the government. Also, Bennett's attempt to blame Hatnuah leader Tzipi
Livni for the prisoner release looked like an evasion.
Shlomo Cesana
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=6121
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
No comments:
Post a Comment