Netanyahu's speech

PM Netanyahu is scheduled to visit Washington this week and give an important speech next Monday at a joint session of the Houses of Congress. Before he leaves he spoke yesterday to the Israeli people and gave an outline of his diplomatic policies in a speech in the Knesset. Perhaps another reason why he wanted to give this speech is also to set his guidelines before Pres. Obama gives his own speech on Thurs addressing issues in the Middle East. Although Obama's speech is supposed to focus on the current uprisings in the Arab world, he is also intending to address the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Perhaps Obama's speech is designed to preempt Netanyahu's address to Congress, so Netanyahu got in first.

Netanyahu presented six points that he said were critical to any future agreement with the Palestinians:
1. The Palestinians must recognise that Israel is the national homeland of the Jewish people
2. Any agreement must end the conflict and all claims against the State of Israel
3. The problem of the Palestinian "refugees" must be resolved outside Israel's borders
4. Any Palestinian State must be demilitarized and not endanger Israel's security
5. Israel will retain the major settlement blocs, but may be preapred to give up settlements not in blocs
6. Jerusalem will remain the united, sovereign capital of Israel
Some have criticsed Israel for not having its own "plan." Well here it is. It builds on the prior commitment of Netanyahu to accept a two-state solution with peace and security for all.

Not surpisingly these proposals were immediately rejected by Pres. Abbas of the PA in Ramallah and by some of the more right-wing hawks in the Knesset, including some in Likud. But, even Kadima Head Tzipi Livni, leader of the opposition, criticized some aspects of Netanyahu's proposals, so he can't be all wrong. At least he has laid down the gauntlet before Obama gives his speech on Thurs. However, all this is hypothetical if the Palestinians are led by a unified government that includes the terrorist Hamas and if they choose to take a unilateral approach by asking the UN to recognise a Palestinian State. Even Pres. Obama agrees that only a negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinians can lead to a two-state solution that satisfies the needs of both sides.

While many may consider Netanyahu's proposals as a basis for negotiations with the Palestinians, everyone knows that once Hamas joins any Palestinian Government, all bets are off. Israel cannot and will not pretend to negotiate with any organization that rejects its right to exist. Fatah and the PLO have supposedly recognized Israel, but Hamas has not and will not. Abbas said that Israel is "not a partner for peace," which of course reverses the actual political reality, as the Palestinians often do. Netanyahu criticized Palestinian leadership, calling them short-sighted and unwilling to compromise.

Whether or not a Palestinian State will be voted on at the UN in September, and whether or not there are further civil disobediance demonstrations like those on Nakba Day, Netanyahu has set a course and hopefully will stick with it. He may be hoping and praying, like Ben Gurion did in 1948, that the Arabs will always reject any compromise offered to them. If they do and they take unilateral action, then it is likely that Netanyahu will follow up his speeches with the unilateral annexation of the large Jewish settlement blocs in Judah and Shomron. Then the situation of the Palestine problem will be changed forever.