This “Deal of the Century” should be welcomed, but it must be welcomed with a caveat: Israel first needs a government coalition before it can begin to implement it.
By JPOST EDITORIALBlue and White leader Benny Gantz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet to discuss possible political frameworks, October 27 2019(photo credit: ELAD MALKA)
The US is putting forward an unprecedented peace proposal that could revolutionize both Israeli-Palestinian relations as well as the Middle East, if it is handled correctly and with wise decision-making skills. At the White House on Monday, US President Donald Trump hosted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz.This “Deal of the Century” should be welcomed, but it must be welcomed with a caveat: Israel first needs a government coalition before it can begin to implement it. An interim Israel government, with endless elections, cannot properly handle the important, once-in-a- quarter-century kind of deal that is currently being proposed.Calling the deal the “Opportunity of the Century,” Netanyahu is well placed to understand the historic opportunity here after overseeing ten years of stalled peace negotiations. More than twenty-five years after the Oslo Accords – an agreement that Netanyahu criticized – the prime minister finally has a chance to work with a friendly White House to craft a concept that meets Israel’s interests.However, Netanyahu must follow his own advice on this and make sure that Israel negotiates from a position of strength. The strong survive; weak, chaotic governments cannot make peace, and they are at the mercy of their adversaries and short-term politics.Strong Israel should try to make peace, but it should only do so after elections and with a new stable government. That could be a government led by Netanyahu or Gantz or someone else, but it must be a strong government and one that is not going to simply slouch into yet another round of elections.Israel already faces serious challenges in the coming year, partly because it has spent the last year treading water with endless elections. Budgets must be shored up so various ministries can stop operating on monthly allowances. The country faces other major strategic issues, including the IDF annual assessment that points to the Iranian challenge in Lebanon, Syria and across the Middle East.Israel has viewed the Palestinians as largely a defeated force since the 2014 war in Gaza. Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah is aging, and he has been sidelined by some Sunni Arab countries that were previously his allies. Hamas in Gaza is also isolated even though it is working closely with Qatar and Turkey. A brief war with Palestinian Islamic Jihad in November harmed the Iranian-backed group and paved the way for the potential of longer-term quiet with Hamas in Gaza. But this is the peace of the status quo: one where each side doesn’t attack the other, even if each side seeks the eventual elimination of the other.Israel has had this kind of mutually understood non-peace for years. It has preferred to not have a Palestinian state come into being as envisioned by the Oslo Accords because the Palestinians have been incapable of governing peacefully and creating the conditions that might lead to a state.Other concerns have emerged, such as Iran and ISIS, the latter of which has now said it will target Jews in its next campaign. More favorable conditions in the Gulf states point to a thaw or even détente with some countries there, emerging under a pro-American alliance of interests that sees Iran as the main threat.Gantz has rightly called for implementation of the Trump deal after elections and in collaboration with other regional players. Unfortunately, the Palestinian leadership, aging and out of touch, has called for days of rage and violence so that they can scuttle the future of their people once again.Israel has much hope and promise today in the wake of Trump’s commitment to peace and Israeli security. The administration should be praised for inviting Israel’s leaders to Washington and showing the vision necessary to tackle peace responsibly and without naïve concepts of the past. Now it is Israel’s turn to show unity and strength – with a new government that can put this deal into motion.
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