Who needs satire when you have Netanyahu
Netanyahu tells Knesset panel: We have defeated the BDS movement and that he is not the cause for the stalemate in peace, rejecting claims that settlements damage Israel’s standing abroad.
Excerpt from article by Barak Ravid, Haaretz, Jul. 25, 2016
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Israel has defeated the BDS movement and said he would not hold on the foreign minister portfolio forever, adding that there is no current Palestinian partner for peace.
The prime minister arrived on Monday for a special session of the State Control Committee on the Foreign Ministry and Israel’s public diplomacy and responded to criticism that he has yet to name a foreign minister.
The prime minister pulled out a world map, color-coded to illustrate how Israel’s foreign relations have improved. “People say we are isolated,” he said. “What isolation are we talking about?”
“We are acting against BDS and this is why they are on the defensive,” he added, noting that anti-Israel activists around the world are now being forced to fight over the issue of whether they even have a right to boycott Israel. “They are taking hits of many fronts. We have beaten them.”
“Hasbara is not a goal in its own right, unless you are a virtual politician and deal with a virtual world.”
“I am leading a policy of two states for two peoples,” he answered. “If we will have a partner for [peace], we will bring it for a decision. I don’t bring things to a decision today because there is no partner … The probability that a Palestinian leader can be found today who will make the required compromises is very low. I hope I am wrong, but in my opinion not many people disagree with me,” he said.
Netanyahu also dismissed the criticism that construction in the settlements causes diplomatic and public relations damage to Israel. “We tried a building freeze in the settlements and it didn’t help,” he said. “[Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas] did not come to negotiations, but ran away. The idea that we must uproot and ethnically cleanse the Jews who live in Judea and Samaria — I don’t accept it. I don’t think it is what is preventing an agreement.”
“What are you talking about?” asked MK Zehava Galon, the chairwoman of Meretz. “Israel is under harsh international criticism because of your policy.”
Netanyahu answered: “I am not the reason that there is no peace. Not Rabin, not Olmert, not Sharon either and also not Barak. Should I tell you who is delegitimizing Israel? I would answer you but I will spare your honor.”
“Since Operation Protective Edge, our coordination with Arab countries in the region is growing, even if you don’t know about it,” he said.
