Writing on wall for Israeli PM?
Elections could jettison black sheep Netanyahu
“ANYONE but Bibi.” It is the rallying cry of opponents battling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tuesday’s elections, but also seems to aptly sum up feelings in the US and Europe.
The wily Israeli politician appears to have outstayed his welcome on both sides of the Atlantic, with leaders exasperated by the repeated failure under his watch of efforts to reach an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. Relations between Israel and its traditionally staunch US ally are at an all-time low.
Already damaged after Netanyahu abruptly pulled out of a US-led peace bid in April last year, ties were left in tatters when the Israeli premier took the unprecedented step of addressing Congress earlier this month to attack nuclear negotiations with Iran.
While the White House said it was staying out of the elections, it has made its anger at Netanyahu abundantly clear, with top administration officials snubbing him during his Washington visit.
“There have also been expletive-laden, anonymous exchanges from officials on both sides in the US and Israeli media, revealing everyone’s true feelings.
“The notion that we don’t meet with Israeli prime ministers this close to elections is just wrong. We meet with Israeli prime ministers whom we like,” said Middle East expert Aaron David Miller, highlighting that US Vice-President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry met Netanyahu’s challenger, Isaac Herzog, the Labour leader and head of the centre-left Zionist Union coalition, in Munich last month.
“They have sent any number of signals making it unmistakably clear that Benjamin Netanyahu is screwing up the US-Israeli relationship,” said Miller, a former adviser to six secretaries of state.
In Europe, the growing perception that Israel opposes Palestinian statehood despite assertions to the contrary is causing support to wane, replaced by a growing boycott and sanction movement.
Netanyahu “has been a bad deal for Israel. It is better off without him,” wrote The Economist magazine in an opinion piece.
Herzog “is not charismatic. But he is level-headed and has a credible security and economic team. He wants talks with the Palestinians and to heal ties with Mr Obama. He deserves a chance to prove himself.”
Miller predicted Netanyahu may be ousted, replaced by a centrist coalition led by Herzog. If that happened, the new gov- ernment would present “a kinder, gentler” face, which may prove less aggressive on issues such as settlements, he said, eyeing a “substantial improvement” in relations with Europe.
But it remains uncertain whether there would be any sustained push to resume peace talks, which could prove a risky proposition for any newly minted, fragile Herzog-led coalition.
“Those Europeans who want to see increased pressure on the Israelis may be disappointed, because you’ll have an Israeli government that says a lot of very nice things but will be restrained in many areas and can’t make decisions.”
In a sign that the US remains invested in a peace process, Kerry met Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, Jordanian King Abdullah II and Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Egypt on Friday to discuss creating an environment for new talks. — AFP
The White House has made its anger at Netanyahu clear