Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu probably wants to forget Sunday entirely: At dawn, he was under anesthesia on the operating table at Hadassah hospital for a hernia operation, and he still has a few days of pain ahead of him; on the diplomatic front, two mirror-image events unfolded, reflecting the enormous challenges facing the Israeli prime minister ahead of delving back into peace talks with the Palestinians.
If only, by way of some kind of barter, he could delete from history these two events: the implication that, with his silence, he approved the construction of 1,200 new homes in east Jerusalem and in settlement blocs and the mental anguish involved in releasing murderous terrorists just to be able to sit down and negotiate with the Palestinian leadership, which continues to incite against the Jewish state.
Netanyahu is heading into peace talks with his arms tied behind his back. It would have been far better if he was able to say to his negotiating partners, and mainly to the U.S., that he had once again given Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas a chance by temporarily blocking settlement construction, just so that the Palestinians wouldn't be able to complain. It would have been even better if he could have done that without having to release despicable terrorists from prison. This release is too painful to bear.
On Sunday, I received a call from Bella Freund -- the exemplary woman from Jerusalem who, witnessing a Jewish lynch mob trying to attack an Arab murderer, courageously protected him with her body. She did so because she believed that the justice system would ultimately serve justice. But now, almost as an afterthought, she learned that the killer she had defended is about to be released, and she cried out in anguish.
But this isn't simply an emotional issue, nor is it just about political dues, which every public figure needs to take into consideration. After all, every individual has their own interests. The significance is that at any given stage of the negotiation, the Israeli leader's ability to maneuver is far more limited than, and inferior to, his opponent's flexibility. This was the case when Israel conducted peace talks with Egypt and with Jordan, and it is also the case with Palestinian leaders.
Netanyahu's main challenge is that all the sides involved in the process, without any exception, insist on constantly voicing their dissatisfaction. Netanyahu managed to get the Americans to implicitly agree to the building of 1,200 new settlement homes (the value of the construction tenders is simply declarative -- the actual construction won't begin for quite some time), but no one is thanking him or congratulating him, not even Habayit Hayehudi (which was gunning for settlement construction).
On the contrary -- Habayit Hayehudi members ranging from chairman Naftali Bennett all the way to Orit Struck are only saying one thing: Not enough; too late.
The same is true for the opposite side of the political spectrum. It is not just the opposition that is complaining -- key components of the coalition are also criticizing the prime minister. Justice Minister Tzipi Livni was sent to negotiate with the Palestinians under conditions that fellow Hatnuah member Amram Mitzna feels are unnecessary, and only hinder the talks.
The Palestinian negotiators are arriving at the negotiating table in the midst of a dramatic divergence from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but in satisfactory agreement with the leadership in Ramallah. The Israeli government is arriving at the same point as though walking a tightrope at a very high altitude. Israel must constantly be vigilant lest it slip and fall. In this, too, there is no parity.
טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו