Netanyahu’s true colours revealed

In his bid to secure reelection as prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu stated that an independent Palestinian state would not see the light during his term in office.

In yet another racist statement, he warned his supporters that the Arab voters are flocking to the ballots, a warning that outraged the international community and the Obama administration in particular.

These two statements reveal Netanyahu’s true colours. Not only is he unwilling to abandon his ideological stance with regard to the notion of a Palestinian state, he also exhibits a racist tone that could further damage the Arab-Jewish ties within Israel.

To contain the damage caused by his statements and to assure the enraged Obama administration, on Thursday Netanyahu backtracked from his pre-election statement regarding a Palestinian state.

He affirmed that he had no intention to reverse his endorsement of a two-state solution, but he meant that, given the conditions prevailing in the region, it would not be possible to establish such a state now.

To be sure, Netanyahu had to come with this unconvincing clarification only after the Obama administration made it perfectly clear that it would reassess its position regarding the approach to the stalled Palestinian-Israeli peace process. 

Hence, his attempt to backtrack from his election declaration is a day late and a dollar short.

He did not even say that he was committed to peace negotiation or that he would present new ideas to push for peace.

Josh Earnest, White House press secretary explained the administration’s position by saying that the pre-election declaration proved that Netanyahu was “no longer committed to a two-state solution” and this means the Obama administration will have to reassess its policy.

Sources at the White House hinted that the US may take action against Israel by supporting a Security Council resolution calling for the establishment of an independent Palestinians state along the Green Line that divides Israel proper from the occupied West Bank.

But let us put the recent developments in the proper context. 

Obama feels that Netanyahu is challenging and undermining his efforts to sketch out a foreign policy for the US that serves the interest of the Americans.

Just two weeks ago, Netanyahu challenged the administration and gave a speech before the Congress in which he tried to rally the Congress against Obama’s effort to reach a deal with the Iranians over their nuclear programme.

Netanyahu’s pre-election statement is another blow to Obama’s notion of what an ideal solution to the longstanding Palestinian-Israeli problem could be.

In other words, Obama must have reached the conclusion that Netanyahu cannot be a partner to the US in any regional issue in the Middle East.

If anything, Netanyahu’s statements prior to elections vindicated the Arabs’ insistence that Netanyahu was never a true partner for making peace.

Now many officials in the US suspect that Netanyahu was never serious about a two-state settlement.

When the American efforts to bring Palestinians and Israelis together to reach an understanding failed, many in America were quick to blame the Palestinians. I wonder if those people have not changed their mind after it became crystal clear that Netanyahu is far from being a peace maker.

Equally important, after the racist comments made by Netanyahu, some Americans may reach the conclusion that the next Israeli government does not share the American values.

It remains to be seen whether there will be a paradigm shift or the two sides will patch up the differences in months to come.

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