Like Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu was written off in last year’s Israeli election. That he came through despite the odds was a huge blow for the Israeli Labor Party, whose members’ hopes were dashed. What seemed certain a few weeks before crashed in flames as counting continued.
An emboldened Netanyahu has since expanded his plans to settle more Israelis in the West Bank. The new settlements are at the heart of why those Labor elders like Bob Hawke and Bob Carr, Gareth Evans and Kevin Rudd are walking away from Israel and seek succour and comfort in the tender arms of the PLO and Hamas.
Frankly I don’t see much comfort there and I can’t go along with recognising the Palestinian state unless and until Hamas resiles from its commitment to boot every Jew out of Israel.
The Israeli PM’s visit here this week is a good demonstration of his oratorical flair and charisma. I first met this bloke in the early 1990s and I can recall a spellbinding 45 minutes where he outlined what he stood for.
On my return to Canberra I warned Hawke about this rising Likud star. My view was that if he were to become the prime minister of Israel, peace would always be too far away. This is a man not given to compromise and unwilling to see any other point of view.
Read the articl;e by Graeme Richardson in The Australian (subscription required).