Israeli Politics Israeli settlements Netanyahu US politics

Arieh Eldad: Netanyahu Cannot Lie to His Voters…….

Keeping Netanyahu honest


Arieh Eldad:We will try to topple him,” Arieh Eldad, head of the National Union party, a coalition member, told The Sunday Telegraph. “We will work to recruit all those who are loyal to the Land of Israel. He cannot lie to his voters.”

The Tundra Tabloids spoke with an old friend recently, who happens to be a Finnish freelance journalist working the Middle East beat from Israel for over two decades. He asked me what I felt about the current political situation between Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and the present US administration, and how in the Tundra Tabloids’ opinion, the relationship could progress or regress in the next year or so.

I told him that I believed that the Netanyahu government would proceed along the lines of sounding the right tune to the Obama administration’s ears, but not give too much away in susbtance. I also believe that Jerusalem views their ruling government coalition to be more fragile than its relationship with Washington, Netanyahu simply can’t run the risk of his Likud led government collapsing under the weight of US pressure.

It’s that reason which leads me to believe that the Netanyahu government will more than likely follow the same line of reasoning laid out by Barry Rubin, in that Jerusalem will not surrender nor be confrontational, giving assurances that are not totally written in stone, and can be reversed in due course. It’s the only pragmatic course that Israel can take without being cast into the role of the spoiler, and something that needs to be done over the (at least) next 3.5 years. KGS

H/T: Baron Bodissey

Israeli right-wingers ‘will topple’ Benjamin
Netanyahu if he backs Palestinian state

Against the backdrop of intense US pressure on Israel to make bold moves for peace, Dr Eldad’s comments underscore the opposing pressures on Mr Netanyahu.

Some aides have indicated that Mr Netanyahu does intend to give guarded approval for Palestinian statehood in a speech that commentators are describing as a “moment of truth” for the the hawkish prime minister.

He met over the weekend Israeli president Shimon Peres, the former Labour leader who was condemned last week by right-wing coalition partners Jewish Home and National Union for calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The speech follows President Barack Obama’s sweeping address to the Muslim world in Cairo in which he made it clear the United States expected Israel to accept a Palestinian state – a development against which Mr Netanyahu has been an outspoken opponent throughout career.

Mr Obama also said Israel’s building of Jewish settlements in the West Bank – on land where the Palestinians plan to build their state – undermined peace efforts and must be stopped.

In his speech, Mr Netanyahu faces the task of both placating the new US administration while fighting to save his government whose survival is dependent on nationalist parties.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.