Netanyahu government exposed

PM Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu's speech at Bar Ilan University earlier this month did not bring forward any ideological change vis-a-vis the two-state solution. It can now be said loudly and clearly that the 'emperor has no clothes.' Bibi remains Bibi - with a tad more sophistication ultimately of no consequence to the State of Israel - with no vision, no direction, and no correctness to lead us through the required decisions. Netanyahu tried to reinvent himself but even the succession of the words 'Palestinian' and 'state' is no magic formula for covering up the political 'nudity' of Netanyahu and his government.

It is no surprise that Minister without Portfolio Bennie Begin (Likud), Minister of Strategic Affairs Moshe (Bougie) Ya'alon (Likud), Interior Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and his Israel Beitenu Party did not threaten to dissolve the government or force an election. They understood that there was no reason to worry. Netanyahu was and remains a right-wing leader committed to an outlook supportive of the 'Greater Israel' solution. Talk of two-states is just a tactic designed to disguise the intention to expand settlements and to prevent any real political progress towards peace.

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Evict the thugs from Hebron

In recent weeks, due to the upcoming elections, the three candidates for the premiership, Ehud Barak, Tzipi Livni and Binyamin Netanyahu - have taken to verbally attacking negative elements within the extreme Right.  Meanwhile, the authorities' resolve in combating settler violence has weakened even as incidents grow more frequent.

None of them expected that the moment of truth would come so soon when the High Court of Justice ruled that a house invaded by several settlers in central Hebron must be evacuated. The ruling orders law enforcement authorities and the political echelon to stand alongside the court in confronting the thugs of the extreme Right, and do their utmost to turn speeches and declarations into reality.

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King David for the Occupation

In recent weeks, the Yesha Council (Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip) launched a new campaign by the name of "Yehuda and Shomron - Every Jew's story". This name was used in order to blur any political elements and to provide the campaign with an educational character. Advertisements and commercials bear the signature of a new organization from the creative offices of the Yesha Council called "Yehuda and Shomron - Hasbara Center".

In the framework of this campaign, biblical heroes and legendary figures were recruited to participate in the debate on the fate of the settlements; from King David and Yehuda the Maccabi to Rachel and Shmuel the Prophet, all were called aboard to fight for the vision of Greater Israel and the continuation of the Israeli occupation of the territories.

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A rightist government in disguise

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's speech at Harvard University on the policy of settlement expansion points more than anything to the increasing gap between the government's public stance on the matter and the reality on the ground.

If we are judging based on actions, the Israeli government - disguised as a center-left government - is in fact a rightist government that continues to build settlements, which undermines the chances of reaching a political settlement, thereby turning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into an unsolvable one. Bibi Netanyahu could not have done it better.

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Lieberman - a strategic threat

At the end of March 2006, Israel's citizens voted unambiguously for compromise and national agreement and awarded the "Kadima" party leadership of the country. For the first time in 2 decades, the 'Center-Left' - including Kadima, the pensioners' party, Meretz, Labor and the Arab parties - had the majority in government, with 70 Mks. The Likud, with Binyamin Netanyahu at its head leading a hawkish, right-wing stance, was crushed and won only 12 mandates, while Lieberman followed closely  with 11 mandates.

Based on the results of the votes, Israel Beitenu's (Israel Our Home) entry into the government was, in fact, a slap in the face for the average voter who expressed, again unambiguously, deep mistrust for the politics of the Right-wing extremists.

From the first day of his entry into the government, Avigdor Lieberman behaved as if it was his party that won the vote and as if the 'fundamentals of government' was but an unworthy, decorative document, not to be given any meaning whatsoever. Instead of accepting the general population's decision and taking his place on the opposition's bench, Lieberman decided to act from within by joining the government in an effort to torpedo any political progress.

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Evacuation - Compensation - Now

Defense Minister and Labor party Chairman Ehud Barak's announcement that he supports the evacuation/compensation legislature [intended to compensate West Bank residents who wish to relocate to within the Green Line] spurred anew the public debate surrounding the fate of settlements still beyond the security fence.

The waves of terror that plagued Israel earlier in this decade and the construction of the separation fence thereafter brought about a situation in which 65,440 settlers in approximately 74 settlements reside to the east of the fence, deep in the heart of the West Bank.

At the basis of the proposed legislation is the Israeli government's moral obligation to allow settlers who live beyond the fence to re-settle inside the borders of the Green Line. It comes as so surprise that the leaders of the settler movement, officials in the Yesha Council, whose role it is to represent the entire population in the territories, choose to act in a comprehensive manner to the proposed initiative and turn their backs on those who are ready to leave immediately. 

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