Netanyahu Agreed To Give Golan Heights Back to Syria
The irrepresible Bibi Netanyahu is now attacking Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for contemplating returning the Golan Heights in exchange for a binding peace with Syria.
Nothing surprising about that except Daniel Levy now has the proof that when Netanyahu was Prime Minister he agreed to a full Golan withdrawal in return for peace. He is now attacking Olmert for contemplating a withdrawal he himself agreed to.
Nice.
It is also interesting that Bibi, who offers himself as an inflexible hawk, is apparently not quite that inflexible. He's kind of Barak in reverse.
Israel's next election will likely be between Bibi (who talks hawkish but is capable of surprising us by moving left), Barak (who will run as Labor but is probably less pragmatic and flexible than Netanyahu) and Olmert (who is the most pragmatic and flexible of the three but does not have the political clout to put over the Israeli-Palestinian peace he desires).
Anyway, read Levy. The sheer hypocrisy of it all!
Comments (12)
Bibi is probably sniffing out the latest stench from Washington, including the timely White House press release on the long ago Israel airstrike in Syria.
There is also the continued hypocrisy on Palestine:
PRESIDENT BUSH, Apr 24 2008: Thanks for coming. Mr. President [Abbas], I appreciate a chance to talk about peace. I assured the President that a Palestinian state is a high priority for me and my administration -- a viable state, a state that doesn't look like Swiss cheese, a state that provides hope. It's in -- I believe it's in Israel's interest and the Palestinian people's interest to have leaders willing to work toward the achievement of that state.
NEWSWEEK, Apr 28 2008: Mahmoud Abbas left Washington a disappointed man. After a high-profile White House meeting with President George W. Bush, the Palestinian president told reporters that he was returning home with little to show for his White House visit. According to an aide to the Palestinian president, the meeting failed to address the key issues of a peace agreement, most importantly the withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from new settlements in Palestinian territories and the redrawing of borders to pre-1967 lines.
WASHINGTON, Apr 29 2008 - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told an American Jewish audience Tuesday that young Palestinians are losing hope for an agreement with Israel. "Increasingly, the Palestinians who talk about a two-state solution are my age," Rice, 53, said in a somber speech to The American Jewish Committee at its 102nd annual meeting. Insisting that the Bush administration will never yield to dealing with Hamas militants, Rice said, "What you don't want is that the hopelessness and the vision of the extremists have no counter."
April 30, 2008 1:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Promising to give Israel back to the Palestinians. Now THAT would be hypocritical.
April 30, 2008 1:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
They must've offered Bibi something really great...like a VIP junket to London.
April 30, 2008 1:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bibi 'agreed' to return Syria but he didn't. In Oslo Israel 'agreed' to stop west bank settlement expansion but didn't. Sharon 'agreed' to stop west band settlement expansion when signing off on the Road Map, but didn't. Olmert 'agreed' to the same in Annopolois, but didn't.
I think the Israeli public is aware that the Israeli government must agree to many things to satisfy the Americans but that no one really expects those 'agreements' to mean anything.
This is not going to hurt Bibi in the minds of the Israeli public. They understand the game. It is the US public that is being fooled.
April 30, 2008 2:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Anyone who has ever been to the Golan and has even a rudimentary understanding of armed conflict would be very, very, very skeptical about Israel giving back the Golan. Ever.
April 30, 2008 10:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
M.J.,
So in 1998 Bibi was for "returning the Golan Heights in exchange for a binding peace with Syria", and now he is against it. Boo f*cking hoo! He's a flip-flopper and could be a successful American politician - in either one of our major parties.
I think it's important to remember that:
(a) This is not about Bibi or Olmert. Israel has officially annexed the Golan Heights. They cannot be returned to Syria without the Knesset repealing the law which extended Israel's sovereignty there. The chances of such a law passing - in this Knesset or in the future ones - are nil, since an overwhelming majority of the Israelis objects to it.
(b) Politicians, incl. Bibi, are allowed to change their minds when the circumstances change. The differences between Israel in 1998 and in 2008 are enormous and include the failure of 2nd Camp David negotiations, followed by a bloody 2nd Intifada, the collapse of the Oslo process, the failed disengagement from Gaza, the rise of Hamas, Hizballah and the Iranian nuclear threat, and, most recently, the botched 2nd war in Lebanon. (That's an incomplete list.) In light of the above, only a fool would see no reason to re-think her original positions.
(c) Finally, discrediting Bibi may hurt him personally, maybe even fatally so. However, please don't harbor any illusions that Bibi the individual is your political opponent. Bibi's right-of-center politics represent the vast majority of Israel's current public opinion.
In the aftermath of the Lebanon war, the Israelis are in a foul mood, and as soon as an voting opportunity presents itself, I bet they will elect a right-wing Knesset and govt. -- with Bibi at the helm, or, if Bibi is too damaged politically, with someone else in the top spot, who will at best be Bibi's ideological clone, or maybe much farther to the right.
April 30, 2008 10:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Golan is perfect for a trendy getaway
(from a travel guide)
Located in the north of Israel bordered by Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, the Golan Heights are widely referred to as Israel's "pastoral countryside". The Golan Heights is a trendy getaway these days, as Israelis and tourists on an Israel tour alike escape there to connect with nature, leaving the stress of urban living far behind. Thanks to this surge of visitors, the region has developed in recent years an ever growing tourist industry, fully equip with a range of country-style B&Bs, spas and complimentary amenities, bicycle rentals, guided nature walks, horseback riding and much more.
Whether on a Bar Mitzvah tour, a family tour to Israel or even a Jewish heritage tour, whether a nature lover, one interested in history, or simply in need of a bit of pampering, the Golan Heights are the perfect destination to unwind after rigorously touring Israel's metropolitan cities (Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Jaffa).
With their rolling slopes and lush vegetation, the Golan Heights have been a strong point of contention between Israel and its neighbors. Since the Six Day War of 1967 however, the Golan Heights have been under Israeli jurisdiction and are an integral part of the State of Israel.
May 1, 2008 12:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Don,
What's your point?
If you substitute the pair "Israel and Golan Heights" with, say, "China and Tibet", "India and Kashmir", "Turkey and Western Kurdistan", "France and Alsace ét Lorraine", "Romania and Transylvania", or [enter your favorite place that involuntarily changed jurisdictions in the last 100 years], you'll find numerous travel guides with similarly worded entries.
May 1, 2008 12:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
I gotta disagree a little with you on this one. Back when he was PM, Barack was of course famously willing to split Jerusalem and give over 90+ percent of the West Bank. And he probably was willing to talk to Syria at least as much as Bibi.
Bibi when PM signed Wye and of course as pointed out was willing to trade Golan for peace deal.
They all talk more Hawkish when out of power, and thankfully govern a little bit more dovish once in power and having to face the real world. Same for other Likudniks once they were in power.
Alas, nothing stops settlement growth meanwhile.
May 1, 2008 3:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
I gotta disagree a little with you on this one. Back when he was PM, Barack was of course famously willing to split Jerusalem and give over 90+ percent of the West Bank. And he probably was willing to talk to Syria at least as much as Bibi.
Bibi when PM signed Wye and of course as pointed out was willing to trade Golan for peace deal.
They all talk more Hawkish when out of power, and thankfully govern a little bit more dovish once in power and having to face the real world. Same for other Likudniks once they were in power.
Alas, nothing stops settlement growth meanwhile.
May 1, 2008 3:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
DrSteveA writes:
Funny how the same never applies to the Palestinians, Hamas, Hizballah, Syria, Iran, etc. They seem to stick to their proclaimed principles, no matter how un-real world these principles are.
Yet, the Peace Now crowd (or should I call them the When in Doubt, Blame Israel crowd?) is constantly pushing for further concessions from Israel. Morons!
May 1, 2008 3:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
M.J.
I was hoping that you'd post about Daniel Pipes resurrecting the Obama is a crypto-Muslim slander.
Enjoy your posts!
May 1, 2008 11:29 PM | Reply | Permalink