Netanyahu and Kerry. Where is the prime minister actually leading us?
Photo: Amos Ben Gershom, GPO
Peace talks vs. Yitzhar: Two trains headed to a collision
Analysis: Prime Minister Netanyahu must prove to Israelis – not to John Kerry – that he is responsible for creating a new reality in Judea and Samaria.
The friends of US Secretary of State John Kerry, who has been working tirelessly to broker an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, often call him "the Energizer Bunny." But on Tuesday, while testifying
before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he actually looked like someone whose batteries had been completely drained.
The circumstantial relation behind Kerry's "poof" was loud and clear: The Israeli actions led to the negotiations' failure. Not the refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, not the ongoing incitement in the Palestinian Authority. The violation of the agreements which brought about the talks' renewal is what led, according to Kerry, to their cessation.
The Israelis, the secretary of state said, failed him by refusing to release the Palestinian prisoners and announcing the construction of 700 housing units in Jerusalem's Gilo neighborhood. "And, poof, that was sort of the moment," Kerry said, and the Palestinians were forced to leave the negotiating table.
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But Kerry did not settle for this hidden condemnation. On the contrary, it seemed that after his testimony to the Congress – and not for the first time – he clarified his comments, likely due to pressure from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's associates, and praised the Israeli prime minister for the "courageous decisions he made" by agreeing to release all the Palestinian prisoners of the fourth batch in exchange for Jonathan Pollard's release.
But the following must be said: These are not negotiations over the essence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – land, a sovereign state, refugees and Jerusalem – but a discussion devoid of meaning. Nonetheless, the talks between Tzipi Livni and Saeb Erekat are going on because both sides' interest requires this false pretense. Or as a senior Palestinian official put it: "The only thing the Israelis have put on the negotiating table was limited to a biscuit and a glass of juice."
Although the negotiators decided at the start of the talks to keep their content secret, all the details leaked out, leaving deep frustration and raising quite a few questions for Tzipi Livni. The main question is: What are you doing there, unless you've decided to stay at all costs in order to serve as an umbrella for Netanyahu's impotence and unwillingness to make progress?
Add that to the reality taking place before our eyes in Yitzhar. The destruction of a reserve soldiers' post near the settlement on Monday indicates that we have two trains headed to a collision: The first engine is driven by Livni, while the second one is navigated by the most radical settlers. The collision between them could cause a disaster for all of us.
Netanyahu has the habit of issuing statements to the press about his conversations with the defense minister in which he warns about the situation – but they will not be enough to prevent the flames on the ground. Whoever expects the Israelis to continue reporting for reserve service and defending the settlers must prove to them – and not to John Kerry – that he is responsible for creating a new reality in Judea and Samaria.
This is not really about an exchange of accusations between Israelis and Palestinians, but about a simple question of leadership: Where is Prime Minister Netanyahu actually leading us?
