Prime Minister Binyamin “Bibi” Netanyahu is rightfully praised by all as a politician of unmatched skill who artfully engages in political machinations designed to weaken his strongest political competitors both in his own party and rival parties. There are multiple examples of this maneuvering, which I skip over to get to the point. The man is, no doubt, a genius in this realm.
According to the polls, the two politicians who pose the greatest threats to Bibi to replace him as prime minister are Yesh Atid Leader Yair Lapid and Jewish Home Party Leader Naftali Bennett.
Bibi is using Amona to weaken and destroy Bennett.
In the 2013 Israeli elections, Bennett received 12 seats. In the 2015 elections, Bennett’s party went down to 8, primarily because he tried to draw non-religious voters to his religious Jewish Home party, by placing some non-religious people in key po?sitions in the party’s Knesset list. Bennett thus alienated many of his hardcore Torani religious Zionist voters whose primary concerns are settling the Land of Israel and promoting Torah values in the public realm. Those voters left their natural home party – the Jewish Home party – and cast their ballots for Eli Yishai’s party, which didn’t pass the minimum threshold required for entry to the Knesset, and the votes went to waste. The result, Bennett went down to 8 seats.
Bibi’s analysis goes as follows: “If I destroy Amona while Bennett sits in the coalition, it will further weaken Bennett’s standing amongst his hardcore Torani Zionist voters who will abandon him completely.” Bibi will make promises to keep Amona on a nearby hill, will declare that he will pass the regulation law (while whispering in the Attorney General’s ear not to support it), so that Bibi looks like the one who is trying to save Amona from the court’s decrees, but, in the end, simply can’t override the rule of law.
Bibi knows that once Amona is destroyed, Bennett is finished, no matter how much he claims that he worked days and nights together with his Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked to try and find a legal solution for Amona. Bibi all along is sitting back in his chair watching the Jewish Home Ministers Bennett and Shaked working overtime to find a solution, and telling his Attorney General to not approve any solution they bring. Because Bibi needs the dust and rubble of Amona to destroy Bennett’s political future.
The only move that Bennett can do is this: declare to Bibi that if Amona is destroyed, Bennett will bolt the coalition and bring down Bibi’s government. Were he to do so, Bennett would be the one to sit back in his chair, and watch Bibi and the Attorney General working days and nights to find a solution to prevent Amona’s destruction.
But, Bibi correctly surmised that Bennett won’t have the guts to threaten leaving his lofty po?sition as Education Minister over Amona. Indeed, Bennett never went as far as threatening to bring down the government.
In the event of Jewish Home’s exiting the coalition, the Labor Party would never join the government to save it, as it would rip their party into two. Lapid also has no interest in saving the government. To the contrary, he, more than any other politician today, wants elections as the polls favor him as the next Prime Minister.
So, This is the final hour of Bennett.
I was present at an unpublicized meeting between Former Nat’l Union Party Leader Yaakov “Ketzaleh” Katz and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked several months ago. Shaked asked for the meeting to hear Ketzaleh’s thoughts on saving Amona.
Justice Minister Shaked opened the meeting detailing the four legal tracks that she and her office were working furiously on to come up the legal acrobatics required to save the town of Amona. Ketzaleh and I listened attentively. She asked for Ketzaleh’s analysis on the situation.
Ketzaleh leaned forward in his chair and said, “The esteemed Minister of Justice, despite his public declarations, the Prime Minister is not seeking a legal solution to save Amona. Netanyahu could really care less about a few dozen trailer homes on the Amona hill. Bibi’s only end goal is to protect and advance the political future of Bibi, and Amona’s destruction is the exact tool needed to bring down you and your party head Naftali Bennett who today present a formidable threat to his leadership.” Ketzaleh added that through Amona’s demolition, he will succeed in weakening the Jewish Home party by another 4 seats in the next elections, and thus remove Bennett as a serious political threat.
Shaked listened without interruption as Ketzaleh presented numerous facets of his analysis. Her entire focus was changed as a result of the talk with Ketzaleh, and she agreed wholeheartedly with every word. She said she would bring this message to Bennett.
But, Ketzaleh, like Bibi, also surmised that Bennett wouldn’t have the guts to threaten to bring down the government.
Still now, if Bennett would come at this last hour and declare to Bibi and for all to hear, “If Amona is destroyed, the Jewish Home Party leaves the coalition,” Bennett would earn back the voters he lost, go back up to 12 seats in the next election and save Amona from destruction. Ketzaleh said this again loud and clear and a pro-Amona demonstration two days ago. Click here for Ketzaleh’s short speech (with English subtitles).
We say to Bennett the same words that Mordechai said to Esther in the Purim story, “It is for this crucial moment that you reached the governing power that you have.” We really don’t care to hear about how hard you tried to save Amona, because you didn’t use the trump card (no pun intended) that you were holding.
“Regulation Law likely to pass on Monday
Despite effort by Netanyahu to delay vote, Regulation Law appears poised to be passed by full Knesset on Monday”
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/224475
Trump can’t be seen as more of a Zionist than Bibi. Bibi didn’t want the embassy moved, it had nothing to do with Trump. http://www.jpost.com/Blogger/Leon-Kushner .@ bernard ross:
Game is not the issue but FINAL GOAL! What it Bibi final goal? With games there is always the possibility of being the ultimate loser!!!Bennett is way too young for his final hour!!!
There is one thing that Netanyahu is good at. Destroying. Primarily Jewish homes, families, villages, farms, soldiers, Synagogues, Heritage… yet destroying himself and good leadership potential Jews is where he excels.
He is superb at deceiving, betraying and lying as well.
How can we go wrong with such item at the helm?
Who can replace the specimen?
Thousands of honest, intelligent people here.
He will destroy Offra sections shortly… Attaboy!
IMO BB, police and army are the moral losers here. The Govt promised an alternative place of residence if residents of Amona would vacate – they agreed BUT what happened? The Govt reneged or could not carry out the deal leaving a left wing High Court decision to be carried out . Unfortunately the chief Police officer and army Eizenkot did not have the guts to say to the High Court , “No, we shall not assist until alternate place is found for them” . What we have seen is a repeat of official bungling [ Gaza] , Jews demeaning Jews and a great hillul Hashem – no wonder non Jews are laughing their heads off!!
@ bernard ross:
I don’t discount completely that BB needed even welcomed Trump’s interference and even knew or expected reaction from Trump getting him of the hook but as for putting it all on BB I think based on above posts I made it’s clear what the outlines Trump envisions for Israel ultimately. He might be nicer friendlier etc but policy seems to differ little from Obama and Bush. Remember first comments from Trump when he announced for President was “To remain Neutral” in-order to make a deal” He dropped that during campaign but ultimate goal is to make a deal nobody before him succeeded…. Therefore his statement perfectly in line with his previous declared public positions on Israel.
@ bernard ross:
https://sputniknews.com/news/201611131047377479-trump-israel-palestine/
US President-elect Donald Trump said he wants to put an end to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
“That’s the ultimate deal,” Trump said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, referring to the complex conflict as the “war that never ends.”
Just one day after winning the election, Trump invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet with him in the US.
“As a deal maker, I’d like to do… the deal that can’t be made. And do it for humanity’s sake,” the president-elect told the WSJ.
Trump noted that any deal should be directly negotiated between Israel and Palestine, but that his administration would play a “significant role in helping the parties to achieve a just, lasting peace,” Israel’s Hayom newspaper reported, according to the Times of Israel.
He also stated that Israel is a “beacon of hope to countless people,” and that it shares the same values as the US, such as “freedom of speech, freedom of worship and the importance of creating opportunities for all citizens to pursue their dreams.”
The Israeli right hopes Trump’s election will end the animosity between Netanyahu’s government and that of US President Barack Obama’s administration, according to the Jerusalem Post.
However, two months are left before Obama leaves office. As US State Department Spokesman Mark Toner told reporters in Washington, “I can’t rule out that there may be a new initiative before the end of this administration.”
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered Moscow as a venue for Israeli-Palestinian talks. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev stated, “Our country is ready to act as a mediator.”
@ bernard ross:
Trump: Peace between Israel and Palestinians would be ‘a great achievement’
In a meeting with New York Times staffers, Trump says son his son-in-law, Jewish millionaire Jared Kushner, could play a role in peace talks; he also says he won’t pursue reopening of Clinton investigation.
@ bernard ross:
Trump: I’d love to make Israel-Palestine peace deal
Incoming US president could appoint son-in-law to broker a deal between the two parties after taking over.
BB is awful and has to go, but Lapid would be worse, and he’s the favorite to succeed. What to do?
But, if it’s just BB, how do you explain Trump’s most recent statement in which he said he is against anything but natural growth within existing settlements, which is an improvement on Obama but not by much; that was Bush’s line.
“The White House suggested on Thursday night that Israeli construction plans in Judea and Samaria “may not be helpful” to promote a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).”
This is after BB anounced it. I thought they were coordinating. I thought Trump wasn’t going to undermine BB and Israel with critical public pronouncements. I am already wary of Trump. See my comment under “The Ultimate Alternate Israel-Palestine Solution”
for the other things lately that have made me start to lose faith in him.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/224340
Spicer the Press Secretary said after Bibi announced the building of a Brand New Settlement. That building new settlements might not help peace.
Seemed to approved tacitly building within the boundaries of all settlements. Said he did not believe these were an obstacle to peace.
@ yamit82:
BB begged trump for a TSS and BB never builds outside the ghetto so Trump gave what BB asked for. I predicted that BB would skulk under the table,where he does most of his deals, and get Trump to back off. Bennett was putting BB under pressure to build, others were demanding to build outside the blocks, BB was losing hold. Now BB can safely return to his old pretense of announcing, taking credit, then retracting and blaming the foreigners. BB has promised Trump that a deal already exists with the GCC but first he has to defuse “fringe extremists” and then he can present the deal under a united gov. BB’s announcements were made like all the others, knowing they were going no where. If you look carefully you can see that this fits conveniently into BB prior MO plus BB never abandoned the TSS.
Trump is giving what the majority of Israelis want, that’s what BB told trump, so why would trump contradict BB? Have you ever seen BB ask for otherwise? Its a mistake to focus on Trump, he just gives BB what he asks for. Do you believe that BB did not want a TSS or that he wanted to settle outside the ghetto boundaries? If you look at it all that trump gives BB what BB wants AND that Trump believes and trusts that BB knows what Israelis want then it all makes sense.
.
Don’t folks here ever wonder why BB allowed the illegal euro building for Arabs in C for years until discovered..,,….. or why he kept it from Israelis? Why????
Apparently Trump wants to waive Kushner in front of us to make magic peace. Everyone who gets in the White House naturally thinks highly of themselves. They do not understand the conflict and think by wheeling and dealing or doing the right pressure here or there you can make peace.
Unfortunately I have no faith that Bibi will go the White House and say this idea of two states did not work and we need to start annexing.
So we need is a new leader who will do what is needed for Israel.
1. Trump broke his promise to move the embassy to Jerusalem.
2. Trump erased Jews from Holocaust Remembrance Day.
3. Trump is now hostile to settlements.
Congratulations, Israpuntards. You have the anti-Semitic president you demanded.
So much for settlement friendly Trump 🙁
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/224338
Report: Trump asks Israel to stop construction
American official tells Jerusalem Post Israel’s recent construction announcements undermine Trump’s peace efforts.
U.S. President Donald Trump has warned Israel to stop its unilateral announcements of new construction in Judea and Samaria, an unnamed official in Washington told the Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
The official said Israel’s recent announcements, which he said were not coordinated with the White House, undermine Trump’s efforts to reach a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), and also added that Trump is committed to a negotiated “two-state solution” to the conflict.
The report follows Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman’s announcement earlier this week of the construction of 3,000 new homes in Judea and Samaria.
That announcement came after the approval of 2,500 units last week.
While the construction has been criticized by the UN, the EU and France, the Trump administration has thus far been silent on the issue, angering senior PA officials.
Last Wednesday, PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat said he was “shocked” by the White House’s silence on Israel’s construction announcement, and called on Trump’s administration to clarify its policy.
The American official’s comments also come ahead of an upcoming meeting in Washington between Trump and Netanyahu. The White House announced earlier this week that the two leaders will meet on February 15.
Trump warns Israel: Stop announcing new settlements
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Trump-warns-Israel-Stop-announcing-new-settlements-480446
White House official tells ‘Post’ all parties should cease ‘unilateral actions,’ affirms two-state solution.
WASHINGTON – The White House warned Israel on Thursday – in a surprising statement – to cease settlement announcements that are “unilateral” and “undermining” of President Donald Trump’s effort to forge Middle East peace, a senior administration official told The Jerusalem Post.
For the first time, the administration confirmed that Trump is committed to a comprehensive two-state solution to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict negotiated between the parties. Read More http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Trump-warns-Israel-Stop-announcing-new-settlements-480446
crying over spilt milk. the deed is done. more homeless through sharon and nutunyahoo. wonder if the sharon (state land) farm could house all the homeless?