Israel’s moment of choice ( Opinion )

[Jefferson23]

In an exclusive opinion piece for Haaretz, senior Fatah official Husam Zomlot says that Israel can’t have it both ways: either it takes full responsibility for the Palestinians or it relinquishes control of their lives and territory.

By Dr. Husam Zomlot Sep. 26, 2014 | 7:28 PM

When the Palestinian consensus government was sworn in on 2 June 2014, ending seven years of Palestinian political and institutional division, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately rejected it, telling Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a public statement that he must choose between peace and Hamas.

In the wake of Israel’s brutal war on Gaza, however, even Netanyahu’s right-wing government now understands that a unified Palestinian government is in everyone’s interest, including Israel’s. The real choice today is not between peace and Hamas but between occupation and freedom. The time has come for Israel to choose between a deteriorating status quo that promises only continued confrontations and further isolation for Israel or a path toward genuine peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike by ending Israel’s military occupation once and for all.

Unlike Netanyahu’s coalition, which includes ministers explicitly opposed to the creation of two states, the Palestinian government was formed on a peace agenda: recognizing Israel on the pre-1967 borders, renouncing violence, adhering both to international law and previous agreements signed with Israel. Bringing Hamas and other Palestinian factions together on such terms was the Palestinian gift to the prospects of real peace, and the only solution to ending the division that has plagued the Palestinian people.

For Netanyahu, 'peace' means returning to the status quo ante: Gaza besieged and severed from the West Bank as the latter continues to be colonized under a smokescreen called the 'peace process.'

http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/1.617833

[oberliner]

1. I would suggest option 2

Time for a change in leadership as well.

[hack89]

2. Option two

It would lead to a real war but perhaps that is the only way forward.