by David Shavin (EIRNS) — Dec. 14, 2023
Israel’s Haaretz daily led with an editorial response to U.S. President Joe Biden’s message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden had outlined the necessity for a two-state solution of Israel and Palestine and blamed Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for blocking such an approach. Biden’s implication was that should Netanyahu dump Ben-Gvir, he could then align with the U.S. on a workable policy.
Haaretz, even on the same day that it ran a long, blistering attack on Ben-Gvir’s dangerous misuse of the Security Ministry, took issue with Biden, writing, in part:
“In describing the political situation in Israel, Biden even did Netanyahu a favor when he said the Prime Minister ‘is a good friend, but I think he has to change—with this government.’ Later he explained that ‘this is the most conservative government in Israel’s history’ and ‘I’ve known every single head of state in Israel since Golda Meir. ... And this is a different group. Ben-Gvir and company and the new folks, they—they don’t want anything remotely approaching a two-state solution.'
“However, the truth is even worse,” Haaretz wrote. “Netanyahu’s government is anything but conservative. It’s a revolutionary, rightist, radical, messianic government that advanced a regime coup and is dreaming of annexing the territories.
“But Ben-Gvir and the rest of the cabinet members aren’t the only ones who object to the two-state solution. Netanyahu himself prefers to flee from the option of a Palestinian state, as he has done for years, even at the price of fostering Hamas. Everyone knows how this story ends.
“Netanyahu has turned his objection to a Palestinian state into the main part of the survival campaign he is conducting these days. This is also why he hurried to respond to Biden’s sensible words and ‘clarified his position’ to the effect that ‘I won’t let Israel repeat the Oslo mistake. ... Gaza won’t be Hamastan or Fatahstan.’
“Netanyahu’s incitement against the Palestinian Authority is meant to eliminate any possibility for the two-state solution that could break up his government. He’s not acting for Israel’s good but only for his political survival. Biden, the problem isn’t ‘Ben-Gvir and the new folks,’ the problem is Netanyahu.”