Netanyahu comes through with unity government

Benjamin Netanyahu got Labor to come into a unity government, something that has far-reaching repercussions for Israel as a whole, and Likud in particular. The world gets to say “Phew! Now we don’t have to deal with a right-wing extremist government.” But Israel gets what it wants: A new and improved Bibi, and a unity government.

We must understand the following: The decision taken Tuesday night by the Labor Party committee is the decision the nation was expecting. The overwhelming majority was hoping for a unity government.

Netanyahu could have established a narrow government within a week. The old Netanyahu may have done it: He would not compromise, not give in, and rush to the president with a limping government; the most important thing would be that he became prime minister.

Yet the new Netanyahu is different. Quietly, out of a sense of responsibility, without talking much, he managed to produce a sane unity government that comprises religious and secular parties, leftists and rightists, who together can save Israel’s economy and maintain Israel’s status in the world.

Tzipi Livni is the loser in all this. She looks selfish and petulant, a woman who can’t put the needs of her nation above her own ambitions. But not nearly as petty as the AP:

Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday promised to resume peace talks with the Palestinians after he takes office, saying his government will be a “partner for peace.”

The comments were the latest sign that Netanyahu is trying to temper his image as an opponent of the peace process. The Palestinians welcomed Netanyahu’s words, but said his words must be matched by actions.

You see the new narrative? It is Israel that doesn’t want peace, not the Palestinians, who are firing rockets and shooting, stabbing, and bombing (or trying to) Israelis.

And in a show of a particularly biased piece of reporting, see if you can find what’s missing from this paragraph:

Netanyahu spoke just hours after the centrist Labor Party voted to join his coalition. The addition of Labor gives a moderate voice to what had been shaping up to be a narrow, hawkish coalition. Labor led the country for decades, and signed previous peace agreements with the Palestinians and Jordan in the 1990s.

Here’s a hint: Netanyahu himself signed the Wye River Agreement with the Palestinians, and another Likud leader—Menachem Begin—achieved the Camp David Accords.