In a brief and shallow policy address at one of the most right-wing Israeli universities, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visibly nervous and edgy as he reverted to sloganeering instead of accepting Israel's historic responsibility toward regional peace. Clearly aiming to appease President Obama's new thrust to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Netanyahu uttered some of the words that all were seeking--like peace and statehood--but stripped them of substance.

Netanyahu and his coalition still refuse to acknowledge that Israel is an occupying power responsible for daily war crimes and the bearer of a sophisticated ethnic cleansing campaign against Palestinians. The speech clearly slapped President Obama and the international community in the face and should motivate the US to finally act to bring Israel in line with international law; otherwise, the future will offer only more of the past.