Tzippi Livni mocks the return of “Benny” Begin to the Likud.
“We are actually in a situation in which the Right wants to put a stop to everything and the Left may want to give up everything,” she said. “However, our way is to continue the peace process in an intelligent and responsible manner that preserves Israel’s interests.”
Speaking during a Kadima faction meeting, Livni said that Likud had turned into a party that “says no to everything.”
I’m not certain how the leadership of Kadima now differs from the Left, but here’s what Begin wrote back in 1996 about Oslo. (Oslo and Mideast Logic, Jan 17, 1996, The Jerusalem Post)
This is the logical chain of the Oslo agreement: 1. The government has signed an agreement with Arafat. 2. For the agreement to be implemented, Arafat must survive. 3. To survive, Arafat must violate the agreement.
The current calls strengthening Abbas absent the demonstration of any will or capability on his part to foster coexistence with Israel shows that Begin’s words that those words of caution are no less appropriate nearly thirteen years later.
Israel Matzav isn’t deterred by Livni.
Ehud Barak also sounded off:
Also Monday, Labor leader and Defense Minister Ehud Barak slammed former IDF spokeswomen Miri Regev and former science minister Benny Begin for joining Likud. Referring to the Middle East peace processes, Barak said their decision made the Likud’s stance clear and demonstrated that “the Likud way is likely to bring us again to a dead end.”
When Barak took office after he defeated Netanyahu, he inherited a situation where terror was down.He left office a year and a half later at the start of the “Aqsa intifada.” Whose approach then led to a dead end?
PS. Begin’s return to politics is very strange. Israeli politics has moved quite a bit to the left since he resigned a decade ago. He also left with seemingly hard feelings towards Netanyahu. It’s hard to see that he will fit in better now than in 1998.
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
