By Ted Belman
Netanyahu did himself proud. He was strong on his redlines yet concilitory.
1. Jerusalem will remain the undivided capital of Israel.
2. Israel won’t retreat to ’67 lines.
3. Israel must maintain a longterm presence on the Jordan.
4. Palestine must be demilitarized.
5. No right of return to Israel
6. Israel will keep all its settlement blocks around Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
7. Israel will evacuate some settlements
8. Fatah must blow off Hamas.
9. Abbas must accept Israel as a Jewish state
As for how much land we would give them for a state, he said he would be generous. But he made it clear that we are giving them part of our homeland rather than returning to them what is theirs. I had the feeling that he was intent on hanging on to much more land than his predecessors have tried to do. Especially when he said we will give them “part of the land”.
The speech was extremely well received by the audience.
It may be a mistake to assume the one would make possible the other. Maybe it would. Maybe it wouldn’t.
Law of Unintended Consequences, and all that.
Like the man says, be careful what you pray for…
you just might get it.
Bib’s stance has a very broad concensus in Israel. He knows as do we, that no peace will come of it. If you are against Bibi you are against the majority. No problem with that. But rather than attack Bibi, attack the Israelis who support what he is doing.
The diplomatic process must be managed until it is ended. The time for ending it, some think is yesterday, and others, tomorrow, if ever.
In the meantime we must look carefully at steps or the lack thereof to strengthen our hold on J&S. We must continue to build.
I for one hope that the UN recognizes a Palestinian state. Then Israel should annex Area C and perhaps B.
Be patient, it will happen.
Thank you Felix for all the work you dop on behalf of Jews and Israel. You are a true friend.