Supporting Netanyahu’s policies imperils Israel

10/05/2011 18:09   By ALON BEN-MEIR

To be sure, Israel has legitimate security concerns, perhaps now more than ever.

Photo by: Reuters

For all the protestations by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in support of returning to peace negotiations (if only the Palestinians would agree), one simple fact cannot be masked: Mr. Netanyahu does not want a two-state solution; he wants only to delay decision-making at all costs.

Thus far he has succeeded, and he is likely to continue to succeed with the unwavering support of US Congress and pro-Israel advocates in the US. But in doing so, Netanyahu and his American backers are jeopardizing Israel’s national security.

In a recent tongue-in-cheek YouTube video that now has hundreds of thousands of views online, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon reasserted what Prime Minister Netanyahu stated at the Joint session of Congress: the West Bank should not be considered occupied territory. Ayalon claims that Israel has already compromised by not establishing its state on the east bank of the Jordan River, in what is today Jordan, in addition to the West Bank.

With this kind of position deeply entrenched in the Netanyahu government’s policy, getting to a viable, negotiated two-state agreement is a fantasy at best. Meanwhile, members of Congress, like chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ileana Ros- Lehtinen (R), have introduced legislation to cut off funding for the United Nations and any state that votes in favor of a Palestinian state at the UN, as well as cuts to US bilateral aid to the Palestinian Authority.

Statements by Republican presidential candidates, like Texas Governor Rick Perry saying US President Barack Obama is “throwing Israel under a bus,” may be mere campaign rhetoric but merely serve to encourage Israeli intransigence.

Pro-Israel advocates in the US have fueled policymakers to take imprudent but politically advantageous positions by supporting Netanyahu at seemingly all costs. Perhaps with the best of intention to protect Israel’s interests, in this highly contested US political campaign season Israel is being used mostly by Republicans to seek political advantage. Ironically, it is being done to Israel’s detriment.

Such unmitigated political support for Israel would certainly further undermine US influence and credibility in the region and beyond.

Even more worrisome, however, is with “friends” like these in Congress, Israeli rejectionists of Palestinian statehood in the governing coalition led by Netanyahu are encouraged to continue advancing destructive policies that threaten the long-term national security that these US officials are presumably trying to safeguard for Israel.

To be sure, Israel has legitimate security concerns, perhaps now more than ever. The Israeli experience of withdrawing from Gaza and Lebanon – however unilaterally and without a clear understanding with the Palestinians and the Lebanese respectively – only to receive rockets in return has alarmed the Israeli public with regard to the “land-for-peace principle.”

The fact that the PA controls only the West Bank, leaves many Israelis doubtful that any agreement could be implemented on the ground when Hamas and other extremist Palestinian groups still openly seek Israel’s destruction and systematically engage in acts of violence and terrorism.Continued