Let
me be clear -- negotiations are always preferable. But six prime ministers
since Oslo have failed in their pursuit of a negotiated settlement. They’ve
always thought we were on the verge of success, and then [Yasser] Arafat backed
off, Mahmoud Abbas backed off, because they can’t conclude these negotiations.
We
don’t have a Palestinian leadership that is willing to do that. The minimal set
of conditions that any Israeli government would need cannot be met by the
Palestinians….
What
the Palestinians keep saying is, Look, we want the maximum. We will not make
any adjustments in our demands. Nothing. Not tactical, not strategic.
I
think Palestinian society is divided into two. The first half openly calls for
Israel’s destruction. And the second half refuses to confront this and refuses
to confront the demons inside their own camp.
….The Americans said
the only way Abbas is going to come into negotiations is either you release
prisoners or freeze settlements: Choose. We chose [to release prisoners]. We
made it very clear to the U.S. and to the Palestinians exactly how much we
would build, including in Jerusalem. We built exactly what we said we would
build in every one of the tranches. It wasn’t that we surprised anyone with
extra construction.
The
settlements are an important issue, but they are not the core of the problem….Just
a few years ago, we were told that the Palestinian issue was the core of the
conflict in the Middle East…. This absurdity was widely believed. There was no
challenging it. Then there was a second illusion: that if you solved the
Palestinian problem, you’ll get the Arabs to agree with you on a tougher policy
on Iran. Well, that’s out the window now because they oppose Iran regardless of
the Palestinian issue. Now the last illusion remains: The core of the problem
in the Israel-Palestinian conflict is the settlements. That’s about as truthful
as the previous illusions. The real issue was and remains opposition to the
Jewish state.
…the
Palestinians would not lock horns with the primary obstacle to peace, which is
the refusal to end the conflict with Israel once and for all. To recognize that
the Jewish people have the right to self-determination, just as the Palestinian
people do. My insistence on recognition of the Jewish state is not a tactical
PR stunt. It goes to the core of the conflict.
Read more: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-05-22/netanyahu-says-obama-got-syria-right