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Israel/Zionism See other Israel/Zionism Articles Title: Has Bibi outstayed his welcome in the US and Europe? Has Bibi outstayed his welcome in the US and Europe? AFP By Jo Biddle 9 hours ago Washington (AFP) - "Anyone But Bibi." It's the rallying cry of opponents battling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tuesday's elections, but also seems to aptly sum up feelings in both the US and Europe. Related Stories 1. Obama 'committed' to two-state solution for Israel, Palestinians AFP 2. AP Analysis: Speech fallout could determine Netanyahu's fate Associated Press 3. Obama, Netanyahu on collision course 6 years in the making Associated Press 4. Netanyahu denies report he's backed off two-state solution Reuters 5. The Israeli election, explained Vox.com After nine years of dealing with Netanyahu, the wily Israeli politician appears to have outstayed his welcome on both sides of the Atlantic, with leaders exasperated by the repeated failure under his watch of efforts to reach an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. Relations between Israel and its traditionally staunch US ally are at an all-time low, and Netanyahu has had a notoriously frosty relationship with President Barack Obama. Already damaged after Netanyahu abruptly pulled out of a US-led peace bid last April, ties were left in tatters when the Israeli premier took the unprecedented step of addressing Congress earlier this month to attack current nuclear negotiations with Iran. While the White House said it was staying out of the elections, it has made its anger at Netanyahu abundantly clear, with top administration officials snubbing him during his Washington visit. In past months there have also been a series of sharp and expletive-laden anonymous exchanges from officials on both sides in the US and Israeli media, revealing in no uncertain terms everyone's true feelings. Ultra-Orthodox Jews take part in a rally to show support to their political parties a few days befor … "The notion that we don't meet with Israeli prime ministers this close to elections is just wrong," said Middle East expert Aaron David Miller, pointing to White House talks between then Israeli leader Shimon Peres and president Bill Clinton in 1996 just weeks before May polls. "We meet with Israeli prime ministers whom we like," insisted Miller, also highlighting that US Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry met Netanyahu's main challenger Labor leader Isaac Herzog, head of the center-left Zionist Union coalition last month in Munich. "They have sent any number of signals making it unmistakably clear that Benjamin Netanyahu is screwing up the US-Israeli relationship," Miller, a former advisor to six secretaries of state and vice president at the Wilson Center, told AFP. - Europe boycott - In Europe, the growing perception that Israel opposes Palestinian statehood despite assertions to the contrary is causing support to wane, replaced by a growing boycott and sanction movement. Israeli soldiers stand guard at a bus stop next to campaign posters for two candidates in general el … Netanyahu "has been a bad deal for Israel. It is better off without him," wrote The Economist magazine in an opinion piece. Herzog "is not charismatic. But he is level-headed and has a credible security and economic team," the respected London-based weekly added. "He wants talks with the Palestinians and to heal ties with Mr Obama. He deserves a chance to prove himself." Final opinion polls released Friday put Netanyahu's rightwing Likud party four seats behind the Zionist Union. Israeli politics is notoriously fractured and mercurial. But Miller predicted Netanyahu may be ousted, replaced by a centrist coalition led by Herzog. If that happens the new Israeli government would present "a kinder, more gentler" face, which may prove less aggressive on issues such as settlements, he said, eyeing a "substantial improvement" in relations with Europe. Workers hang a giant campaign poster of Israeli Labour Party leader and co-leader of the Zionist Uni … But it remains uncertain whether there will be any sustained push to resume peace talks, which could prove a risky proposition for any newly-minted, fragile Herzog-led coalition. "Those Europeans who want to see increased pressure on the Israelis may be disappointed, because you'll have an Israeli government that says a lot of very nice things, but will be restrained in many areas and can't make decisions." - New peace moves? - In a sign that the US still remains invested in a peace process, Kerry Friday met in Egypt with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, Jordanian King Abdullah II and Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to discuss creating an environment for new talks. Washington is increasingly concerned about the viability of the Palestinian Authority, facing possible financial collapse as Israel withholds taxes and donor funds slow. "We're not likely to see a major new Israeli initiative to reopen negotiations," predicted Tamara Coffman Wittes, director of the Brookings Institution center for Middle East policy. But she highlighted signals that "perhaps administration is considering what it might do on the Israel-Palestinian issue after the Israeli elections." Kerry's former special envoy to the peace talks, Martin Indyk, said he believes that after the elections the US administration "will want to move in one way or another on the Palestinian issue." The United States could either work with the next government if it is amenable, or try to internationalize efforts through a new UN Security Council resolution. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has also suggested some kind of expanded peace process, giving a greater role to Arab nations. "The sense of frustration, the lack of hope, is so strong on both sides, that we need not only to restart the process but ... make sure that the process brings some immediate concrete results," Mogherini said in January. Poster Comment: You bet he has. ;) Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: BTP Holdings (#0)
Does shit stink? The Congress critters applauding him and actually kissing his hand are a disgrace to all real Americans. God is always good!
He's overstayed his welcome on this planet.
“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken
He should go the way of Ariel (the Butcher) Sharon. ;) "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke
Sad, but true. You recall back in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, the U.S.S. Liberty, a lightly armed intelligence vessel was off the coast of the Sinai. They picked up intelligence that the Israelis had massacred 3,000 Egyptian prisoners. The Israelis tried to sink her, but could not do it. There were 50 sailors killed and 165 wounded. LBJ said, "That ship needs to go to the bottom." They gave McGonagle, the Captain of the ship, the Medal of Honor in a private ceremony. "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke
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