Netanyahu Unbound

[Valin]

Power Line

John Hinderaker

February 8, 2020

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fighting for his political life, trying to fend off bogus charges of “corruption” that have been concocted by his political enemies–a group that includes, unfortunately, most of Israel’s political class. Earlier tonight he delivered a remarkable campaign speech that included a blunt assessment of Israel’s recent past and its relationship with the United States. I am tempted to reproduce the whole thing, as reported by Israel National News, as it is seamless, but will do my best to excerpt:

Quote

Without our homeland [Judea and Samaria], we have no existence, we are left hanging – we have no past, we have no future. This is our identity and our legacy, and our future is here. Therefore, our enemies are trying to uproot us from the heart of our homeland. They will not succeed. We are here, and we will always remain here.

After the great euphoria of the Six Day War, a dangerous perspective became entrenched in the left. According to this perspective, Instead of fighting for Judea and Samaria, we need to give them up. They claimed that if we give these lands to our enemies, they will do us a favor and make peace with our existence. They said ‘land for peace’ and we received ‘land for terror’ – buses exploding, restaurants exploding, hotels exploding. The wave of weakness reached a magnitude such that a Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert, was willing to give the Western Wall to the Palestnians. The same Olmert, friend and close adviser of [Blue and White Chairman MK] Benny Gantz, is planning to go soon to [Palestinian Authority Chairman] Mahmoud Abbas so that they can work together against President Trump’s ‘deal of the century.’

(Snip)

We’re in the midst of mapping the area that according to the Trump plan will be part of the State of Israel. It’s a lot of land. We will lead this, and President Trump will agree to it. I trust him completely, and I trust myself completely. But I don’t trust [Blue and White Chairman MK] Benny Gantz. If it were up to Gantz – it would not happen.

With Gantz, we will have the loss of the century, instead of the deal of the century. He wants to implement the deal of the century with international backing. Will the United Nations agree? Will the European Union? Will [Blue and White leader MK] Yair Lapid, who wants to expel 80,000-90,000 settlers? Let’s say all of them agree, which will not happen: Even then Gantz will need the agreement of Ahmad Tibi, with whom he almost formed a government and without whom he has no government.

 

Sounds like a winning platform to me. But Israel is like the United States in suffering from a powerful left-wing establishment that is essentially anti-patriotic. Let’s hope Netanyahu can pull out one more victory.

 

[Valin]

Related........................

The Real Reason Arabs in Israel Do Not Want to Live in 'Palestine'

 

Arab citizens of Israel, who number nearly two million, are up in arms about US President Donald Trump's plan for Middle East peace, which proposes including some of their communities in a future Palestinian state. Pictured: Residents of the Arab-Israeli town of Baqa al-Gharbiya protest the Trump peace plan, on February 1, 2020. (Photo by Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images)