After last week’s announced settlement expansion effectively torpedoed the indirect peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli government is will to do almost anything to build “trust,” so long as it doesn’t involve the only thing the PA actually wants, abandoning that settlement expansion.
Now, Israel has reportedly reached an agreement with the Obama Administration on something called a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. In short, Israel would continue to expand settlements in occupied East Jerusalem with impunity, but they wouldn’t make a big deal of announcing those expansions in the press.
Further, officials say that the Netanyahu government could make some serious gestures to the PA, including the removal of certain West Bank checkpoints and the release of some Palestinian detainees.
But while Netanyahu seems to want to fix the rift with the United States, at least so long as it doesn’t require anything more than nominal gestures, other members of his coalition seem to still be spoiling for a fight. The Shas Party’s official journal today condemned President Obama as a ‘stone throwing Palestinian.’ While this sort of rhetoric would normalize be easy to brush off, Shas leader Eli Yishai was actually responsible for last week’s settlement announcement, and is still in a position to torpedo any rapprochement if he is so inclined.
Can these knuckleheads really believe this is going to fool anyone who really matters?
Oops! my bad! I keep forgetting neither our government nor the Israeli government think Americans matter. I don't know where my mind was.
Let's divorce!! Irreconcileable differences.
appearintly thair hoping something blows since the only thing that gives is backbone and _ss
This is a complete and utter, utter, utter humiliation for the US. The US is completely overshadowed and bullied by the Israeli government, Biden got fecked in his ass, and the response of the Obama administration is to collectively come crawling on their knees to Jerusalem and humbly ask for forgiveness, upon which the Israeli thumbs their nose and say feck you ànd your mothers. And then you need the brightest of the bright among the political analists to tell you why that makes the US look weak and unreliable.
(Expressions owing to Father Ted.)
So much for all the breathless excitement in the alterna-media about a possible shift in US-Israel relations, a 'turning point' and whatnot. And, as predicted, the media and political establishment are turning up the heat on Iran to make everybody forget what happened, and the end result will be harder Israeli position re. the Palestinians, more obsequious relations between our political establishment and Israel, and a war on Iran.
Once again we became lost in hopeful passivity and forsook oppositional activism that MIGHT have been able to widen the temporary breech in 'mainstream' collusion to stonewall any reality based thinking about the Middle East.
Who's your daddy? 🙂
Slowly Israel is becoming for USA a liability and how long can serve the US to fulfill Israelis wishes and ultimately the trust will be vanished(is already) in the Muslim world. Muslims with about two billions in the world how long America can play with them every child born by Muslims hates America Why ? to fulfill the demands of new-cones to attack Irak and Afghanistan which destroyed their economy. Muslims will be forced to withdraw their capital from US and the Americans even can,t pay and one day will demand to pay in gold. Our moto should be to live and let the others to live not killing and wars etc.
"Slowly Israel is becoming for USA a liability…"
_Slowly_?
You don't understand. This is going to fix everything. Petraeus says it's the PERCEPTION of US favoritism to Israel that causes all our problems. So if we just pretend we don't know they're expanding the settlements and have been ever since Oslo, nobody will ever be able to blame us for not insisting Israel put a stop to it. We will no longer be PERCEIVED as favoring Israel, and all our problems will be solved.
Wow. And I thought for one second the Obama administration might actually have some integrity and hope for peace. Clearly they just care how they look, not about actual peace.
Obama administration = " the Mouse that Roared"
Netanyahu is wanted for murder. That says it all.