Abbas has refused to talk to Bibi from his first day in office, not even a 10 month building freeze could move Abbas to come to the table. So of course this is Bibi's fault. It is not as if Israel has made many concessions of sovereignty to enable the Palestinians to work towards building their first nation state. It is not as if the Palestinians have trounced on the Oslo Accords by allowing Hamas to run in the last election, failed to hold elections even though Abbas' term ended 2 years ago, or joined with Hamas who is calling to start a violent uprising against Israel while not accepting that Israel has a right to exist at all. One would think that Bibi had been holding Abbas in solitary confinement in an underground bunker for the past few years - wait that is what Hamas is doing to Shalit (against the Geneva Convention).

he wants oil. he wants money. (read his article in the NYT ) as the jewish people fighting for their life in the holly land the man is thinking about MONEY!!!! let me break it down for you mr. freedman this stroggle is about valuse not about money....

More funny is to read the flock of sheep comments adore every word that comes out of his not so clever mouth (may i say stupid). After all, what would you expect of a man who made his Pulitzer Prize on the back of the State of Israel

What gives this man, a pisher NYT columnist, to tell us what to do? Even if we as Israelis, think the same or otherwise, that's for us to decide not for some arrogant overbearing asshole from New York to judge. He should better concentrate on the issues in his own country - God knows they have enough there.

IE: Friedman, SHUT UP!!! You don't have the courage to live here, you have NO LEGITIMATE VOICE.

This guy has NEVER understood the Israel Arab conflict and his ideas are no more no more insightful than any resident of a mental health hospital

was a journalist in Jerusalem and Beirut. Strategics have chanced, the players have changed, the stakes are higher and Israel has no realistic partner in peace. Friedman, on the other hand is standing on the poetics corner reiterating the same tired triad verses. Friedman- you do more harm to Israel, than her enemies.

For all those voters with short term memory loss you only have to look at BB`s last term in office to see the trend. BB is only intrested in stringing it out untlll the end of his current term as PM. As long as the moneys coming in to his bank account hes smiling. He lacks the courage needed to carry the peace process forward, and instead spends his time making accusations to the PA authority in a ping pong manner while expanding the illegal settlements.

It's hard to believe there are people in the US who still read this tedious, discredited fossil. You would think, at some point, the NYT would make some kind of effort to introduce new and challenging views into their editorial pages. I guess not.

BIBI...and that aint to cool.

freedman doesn't know what he's talking about... am israel chai

Dear Thomas,you really should come and live in Israel for a good few years.Work ,pay taxes and serve in the army, perhaps then you will learn something of the realities of the middle east.After all you will wish to defend your home and your family. Quite frankly I get the idea that you dont exactly understand the situation here, its our life or death and there is no room for mistakes. Think about it Thomas..

another left wing idiot only with a pen to dictate his views, inaccurate and self justifying, go stew in your own soup !

While we stay here trying to fool everyone, the Palestinians are builting institutions, controlling Kassans and gathering power in the world. They have a leader that will get what they want: a State. We dont have leaders. We are losing everything: prestinge, territory, money, influence because we think we can fool everyone. Come on, in 5 or 10 years China, India, Brazil will rule the world replacing the US and we will have 0 support. The Palestinians are completely right to demand the end of settlements as a conditions. What we should do is to come back to the Green Line and deal with our own business before it is too late. Friedman, again, is 100% correct.

With regard to Bibi, settlers, right-wing parliamentarians: You can't convince a man of the truth when his job depends on not knowing the truth.

Friedman doesn't work for Obama and Obama doesn't work for him. Netanyahu can show his achievements in keeping Israel a robust economy and secure from external threats. He doesn't need or want Friedman's seal approval, not when the cost of it is to kowtow to Friedman's Saudi friends. Perhaps Tommy should reflect on how his bad advice has derailed the Obama administrations attempts to act as broker. His call for a unilateral freeze only froze peace. He doesn't and never had the slightest clue as to what is right or wrong.

Is not an expert or professor for the Middle East. so it would be better for him to be quiet. Unfortunately, precisely the people who DO NOT understand nothing about the conflict are those who make the world public opinion. and BTW, your pulizer prize keeps on gathering dust since the eighties

Missiles won't explode on Friedman's house if he does make concessions for peace. but on the people of Israel well... The people of Israel won't get benefits from oil concessions if there is peace . but Friedman and his Foolish Arab slaves will.

Then it is rather obvious why I have never had any urge to go there.

The Palestinians are only going to the UN because they see they have no serious partner for peace in the Middle East, something the author seem to agree with and are no longer willing to wait for one. Unfortuantly for Israel it seems every country the world except the US and Israel have grown tired of waiting for a peace deal and so are preparing to enforce one on the two parties. This what Russia, China and EU are working towards now and are not even trying to hide there intentions. America has be trying to sabotage and delay this and have failed completely is slowly being frozen out. Even George Mitchell who spent years dealing with the mess in Northern Ireland have given up which tells you how unlikely the two parties in this conflict will ever mutually agree peace deal on there own. I think even Obarma is now relying on the Palestinian plans at the UN to push the Israelis into doing a quick deal before individual countries start imposing trade sanctions on Israel. Which will undoubtedly come after the Palestinians got there seat on the UN general council. An with Egyptian military rulers opening up the Gaza border and more than ever needed silent majority in there country who oppose peace with Israel, I can only see increase pressure coming from Egypt and other Middle East nations. In face I be surprise if Egypt does not ban all trade with Israel with in the next 2 years, with other countries following suite.

The value is to read everything this author writes and do the exact opposite.

Bibi wants to save Israel... Really a complicated story....!!!!

Friedman hates what the truth does to his political views. Friedman is set to destroy Facts.

Come to Israel and spew your self-loathing vitriol to your Jewish brothers and sisters. Meet with Netanyahu and tell him your thoughts face to face. Time to come out of the bleachers and man up, Friedman. Otherwise, you are just another simpleton sitting on his brains and farting out uninformed opinions of noxious air and no substance.

and in result of that our Jewish homeland wil lbe destroyed by Arab murderers what will you say to us? You will say "sorry" and we will burry our dead and our hopes to be safe in our homeland? Remember what the US did to save Jews from the Nazi concentration camps? Nothing!!! 6 million of our people had been murdered. My relatives - oncles, aunts, baby nieces are all in the ashes of Auschwitz, and now all you can say is that you are sorry. Well, we have a good memory and therefore do not want to give you another opportunity to say "sorry" while we burry our dead and our hopes for an ever lasting home land . You want to buy cheap oil from the Muslims? Very well, but not at the cost of our lives nor in return for our country.

will have to cover up her entire body because Muslims are taking over your country. So you better take care of your own problems, which are quite severe and let us solve ours in a way best for us.

Rabin's dubbed worldwide as the brave Prince of Peace, and Netanjahu's ideas are identical: 1) Jerusalem will remain united under Israel's sovereignty. 2) Major Jewish settlement blocs will be part of the sovereignty state of Israel. 3) The Jordan Valley will remain under Israel's control. 4) Future Palestinian state will be demilitarized and Israel will control its airspace and border passes. In addition: The leadership of Palestinian state must accept Israel's right to exist as the nation-state of the Jewish people. A peace agreement must be considered the "end of the conflict". A peace agreement must be the "end of all future demands". Rabin spoke at the Knesset in October 1995, while Natanjahu in May 2011. The former, the left wing Labor Chairman and Prime Minister. The latter, the right wing Likud Chairman and present Prime Minister. Both, men of peace who have been/are also Jewish/Israeli patriots eager to see a peace in our region but not at the expense of Israel national and security interests. P.S. Rabin's approach as well as that of Netanjahu's are based on UN Security Council Resolution, 242, which was designed to resolve the Arab Israeli conflict, has been accepted by ALL relevant parties to the conflict and has been the basis for all peace talks to date as well as actual agreements. Sadly, the Arabs, instead of allowing for the conflict to come to an end have chosen to "pocket" all that they have received up to now, e.g. autonomous region, "police" force, etc. but not reaching an accommodation of peaceful coexistence between Arab and Jew, between the Muslim-Arab world and the nation-state of the Jewish people, Israel.

but Beebee keeps trying... I'll give him that.

Tom Friedman and his like are the number one obstacles to peace. By pointing the finger at Mr Netanyahu he evades the real obstacle to peace which is the The PA leadership. Abbas and the PA leadership are not interested in advancing peace, they don't see peace as a value in any way or form because if they did see peace as a value they would sit with the Israeli govt and come to a deal. The offer has been on the table for the last 15 years. Israel has offerred the overwhelming majority of the WB for a Palestinian State but the PA has not been willing to compromise, their interest is clearly to perpetuate the conflict, to pad their pockets with money from the world, and not to reach a deal.

Friedman is our only hope, we the rational people. Bibi leads this country to hell rather soon, in September.