I am loving stories like this. I foresee many more of them to come.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday dismissed European calls to suspend the upgrade in Israel’s relations with the European Union. “Don’t set conditions for us,” Netanyahu told Mirek Topolanek during the Czech premier’s visit to Israel. Netanyahu said Israel’s relationship to Europe should not be linked to its relationship to the Palestinians.
“Peace is in Israel’s interest no less than it is in Europe’s interest, and there’s no need to make the upgrade in relations with Israel conditional on progress on the peace process,” Netanyahu said. “We are in the process of reviewing our policy; don’t rush us.”
And it’s unanimous. Tzipi Livni managed to get her name in the papers by sending the EU a letter that says pretty much what Bibi said. Except hers was the Obama-style letter, and his was Bibi-style straight talk, with no bowing and scraping involved. Compare and contrast:
In the letter sent Thursday to the Czech Republic, the EU’s current president, Opposition Chairwoman Livni wrote that the upgrading of ties would benefit both sides, and that Israel would like to go ahead with the move regardless of other issues.
Livni stressed her commitment to the two-state solution, and said most of the Israeli public supported this plan as well.
Livni urged the EU not to link the two issues, saying that it denies the significant rewards that the upgrade will provide for the citizens of Israel and Europe.
Here’s the crux of the matter, the real difference between the two:
He characterized the West Bank as “disputed territory” over which negotiations must be held.
That is exactly right. And it’s about damned time that someone came out and said that, and said it over and over again. The Palestinians aren’t going to get everything they want. There will be no return to 1967 borders—which are actually a return to the 1948 borders. If the EU wants Israel to move forward, they need to also press the Palestinians to stop terror and incitement. Funny how that always gets lost in the demands that only Israel live up to agreements. I’m thinking, though, that it’s not going to get lost in the shufflue under Bibi. So far, so good.