They Expect to Lead Normal Lives
May 28, 2009
Who said you can’t justify theft of land. And better yet, who said you can’t justify the continuous theft of land?
”There is no way that we are going to tell people not to have children or to force young people to move away from their families,”
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Thank god Hillary’s starting to notice what’s going on here. That Israel is looking for every excuse in the book (“natural growth”) to continue its Occupation.
There is some likelihood that the U.S. is planning for this to be the issue that triggers the inevitable clash between Washington and Jerusalem. Netanyahu will have great difficulty remaining hawkish in Knesset, and calling for a halt to “natural growth” in the Territories. He’ll have to choose – either unmask his mini-Begin intentions (if he has any), or face America in what will soon become his last political battle.
hello Shai,
I wonder what the state department has up its sleeves if Israel told them to go to hell (which it is likely to do). simply, what’s America is going to do? cut military aid? I don’t think any one in this administration intends to do so. History tells us that no hawkish israeli government has ever been reined by a democratic american administration.
I wish I’m wrong though, it’s a wait and see position now.
Offended,
I don’t think Israel can afford to even be deemed to be saying to Washington “Go to Hell”. You know the game – Bibi will say “Yes, of course we’ll halt all settlement activity…”, and his ministers will give the wink-wink okay to continue. Then, 6 months after American satellites will show another two new houses on some hilltop, Bibi will promise to “look into it”. And like that, 8 years from now, Barack Obama will write in his memoirs “We tried everything.”
What I imagine more likely to happen, is Washington pushing Bibi into the corner, forcing him to either go for the Arab Initiative full speed ahead, or face sanctions. I don’t see the Obama administration (including one Rahm Emanuel) having any trouble doing a retake on Bush-Baker-Shamir. From what I’m hearing, Bibi was utterly surprised at the “reception” he got in Congress from Democrats who were 100% in-line with Obama’s directives. Bibi met with them after Obama, and thought he’d have the support of Congress, as Israeli administrations typically had in the past. He was quite surprised…
If Bibi takes a chance with sanctions, which will achieve their effect through the publicity of the threat, he will risk a quick end to his government. Tzipi Livni, and probably Barak himself, will paint Bibi as an extremist who’s willing to risk Israel’s security for an unacceptable ideology. And I wouldn’t be surprised if most Israelis, faced with an angry U.S., would drop Bibi like a hot-potato.
But, you remember my personal bet – that Bibi will yet prove us all wrong, and become the next mini-Begin…