I do not know how Benjamin Netanyahu thinks as the Prime Minister of Israel, but from what he has done so far it seems to us that this man is either a secret agent for the Arabs or that he is a megalomaniac who believes that he can do whatever he wishes to do!
It is arrogantly defiant for the Israeli authorities to declare their intention to expel the Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian lands, as if it were not enough that they build homes for new Jewish settlers on lands that are considered occupied under international law. This man sees that the United States is in a major dilemma as it is trying to confront Iran and the challenge of al-Qaeda, to calm the Arabs, and silence the international community. Nonetheless Netanyahu does not cease to embarrass it and create more problems for it.
Luckily for the Palestinian side, Israel has moved along this politically dangerous road because it is about to be in the eye of the international storm, and there will be no use to its attempts to mitigate the issue on the claim that deportation is a routine process it undertook in past years against all newcomers who do not have legal residence.
Luckily, Netanyahu who is committing all these foolish deeds is already a man of ill reputation, which makes it difficult for him and for his allies to justify his practices. What he has done till now has spoiled for the Israelis their relationship with the current U.S. Administration led by Barack Obama, even though it is full of sympathizers or those who are considered friends of Israel. Even these no longer wish to justify Netanyahu’s practices. Because of that he avoided participation at the nuclear summit in Washington, and before that he had the worst coffee at the White House in a session in which he listened to two hours of chiding from the American President.
Thanks to Netanyahu for having served the Arab side by spoiling Israel’s relations with most European governments, last being the French Government which indicated it can no longer defend Tel Aviv.
If the Israeli Government insists on building the settlements, goes about deporting the Palestinian inhabitants, and carries out public assassinations as terrorist groups do, then the international community becomes compelled to intervene, and neither Washington, nor Paris nor any other usually-sympathetic capital will be able to use the veto to protect Israel.
Netanyahu is practically speeding up adoption by the world of the European plan which calls for declaring an independent Palestinian state on the lands of 1967, the plan that is still marking time because of Washington’s pledges that it will seek a peaceful settlement through which the two sides agree on two states and a happy ending. As long as Netanyahu does not want a solution from Obama, or a solution from Europe, and wants to pull down the homes of the Palestinians from Jerusalem, and deport thousands of them outside the West Bank, then how can it make sense for the world to keep silent over this horrible sight?
Israel admits that it intends to expel thousands of Palestinians from their lands, not to other Palestinian territories, as was habitual, but worse than that, it wants to deport them for good. This would make it the biggest story in the Arab world, the Muslim world, and the entire world, and the Arabs will find themselves once again unable to combat al-Qaeda, terrorism,…, and all the parties that want to exploit the angry sentiments.
Can Mr. Netanyahu confront all these elements? Is he ready to bear the responsibility of what will happen in the world because of him?
By Abdul Rahman al-Rashed
*Published in the London-based ASHARQ ALAWSAT on Apr. 18, 2010.