(Commentary) Jonathan S. Tobin - The decision to renew a settlement building freeze in the West Bank strengthens the incorrect perception that the Palestinians are the only lawful owners of all of the West Bank. Yet Netanyahu cannot afford to act as if the desire of the U.S. to pursue another round of peace talks is irrelevant. Actions that highlight the true obstacle to peace - Palestinian irredentism - are essential to maintaining the bipartisan, across-the-board support for Israel in the U.S. President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may be among the last people on Planet Earth to fail to understand that PA leader Mahmoud Abbas has neither the will nor the interest in signing a peace accord, no matter where Israel's borders are drawn. As much as Netanyahu would have been justified in bluntly and publicly telling Obama and Clinton that their demand for another freeze was wrong, that would have meant putting his country in the position to be accused of saying "no" to peace.
2010-11-16 10:02:08Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive