4381

It’s not but it’s also seems like the most likely outcome to me since when push comes to the shove the Western world would rather keep Israel happy than give a shit about PA.

4382

On the contrary, much of the Western world supports a real, viable, independent and sovereign Palestinian state. It’s only the US that is willing to discard that objective out of overweening loyalty to Israel. In effect, we’re telling everyone else how it is going to be, over their objections. That’s why I think the proper response can’t be to tell the Palestinians to eat the shit sandwich. It has to be to decry the shit sandwich, to raise opposition to it.

4383

It’s not like the deals are going to get any worse, especially with a presidential election coming up and a potential change in Israeli government. Might as well sit on it.

The most powerful bargaining chip the PA has left is the veneer of legitimacy it can offer in what Israel takes, and it would be best not to give that up lightly.

4384

Another aspect of this plan is the eviction of some Arab Israeli citizens from their country. The plan imagines moving the border so that some existing Israeli Arab communities would now be in the rump Palestinian ‘state’. Those Arabs would no longer be Israeli citizens. That’s…ethnic cleansing.

4385

Ayman Odeh, the leader of the Joint Arab List, the only Arab party in the Knesset mentioned that- it would probably put the JAL out of range of being in the knesset, effectively banning it after many attempts to ban it quite literally.

4386

Given the input Bebe and other right-wing Israelis almost certainly had on this plan, I am pretty sure that isn’t a coincidence.

4387

In theory. But while a substantial part of the Palestinian leadership are part of Hamas, no more than in theory. Lots of fine words, but when it comes to actualy lifting a finger to make it happen? No.

Having said that I dont see any real point in the Palestinians negotiating with Netanyahu or Trump. All they can achieve is to show willing. And why give this thing any legitimacy at all.

4388

Of course, the reason some Palestinian leaders are members of groups like Hamas is largely because…everything else they tried was even less successful. It’s not like there was much of a highly religious, much less fundamentalist, sector of the Palestinian community with a lot of cultural or political sway in the years leading up to 1948, or even through the 1970s. Rather, every secular approach, radical or not, violent or not, ended up being strangled at birth, subverted, or, yes, sometimes sabotaged by the Palestinians themselves through a variety of things ranging from ineptitude to infighting. But the point is, if you don’t want them turning to radicals, you have to accord the other options they come up with with some legitimacy and actual consideration.

4389

Very much this, and another thing is: If you elide the distinction between targeting civilians and targeting occupying military forces and simply call and treat perpetrators of both as lawless terrorists, you eliminate any incentive for your enemies to maintain the distinction. Israel responds to attacks on their occupying forces with reprisals against non-combatant civilians and civil infrastructure. What do they expect to happen?

4390

BiBi’s kinda screwed now.

4391

Thank goodness, but Netanyahu has found ways to barely hang onto power so I hope he can’t possibly hold on again.

4392

What? No, that doesn’t mean anything. Gantzs support could vanish in any moment and again nothing would be accomplished. Bibi the weasel seems like can get out of anything. His trials were supposed to start this week, but luckily for him the minister of justice, belonging to his party, closed the courts because of the coronavirus and postponed it to may. I’m sure something else will come up then.

I am just despaired with the political situation here, nevermind the virus and economy which is about to tank.

4393

LOL, Israel just can’t quit BiBi.

4394

Hasn’t he lost those three elections?

It makes no sense to me how he can lose three elections, yet block opposition from forming a government.

Israeli government, you make no sense.

4395
4396

So, business as usual in the Knesset.

4397

Israel’s governmental dysfunction is a perfect counterpoint to all the anti-Semitic jerks claiming Jews are taking over the world.

4398

I saw where the government collapsed and I’m way behind on this, does the last 4 years of a probably-AntiSemite play in? Would the Biden administration stabilize in some form the Israeli government?

4399

I doubt there’s much connection between the Naziphiles in the GOP and what’s going on in Israel. Trump if anything was rabidly pro-Israel, probably because all he sees is their military prowess and willingness to do the dirty work he equates with strength. That, and his base is fanatically pro-Israel while simultaneously being anti-Semitic; the whole Israel and Armageddon thing, which was going strong even in the 1980s among Protestant fundamentalists in the US, keeps that part of the base in line, and the “anything that kills a Muslim is good” part of the base loves Israel’s use of force, even though in reality the situation is far more nuanced and complex than anything the US fanbois can imagine.

4400

This is my surprised face :|