In a belated call by President Obama to Newly re-elected Israeli Prime minister, Obama threatened to reassess US Mideast policies. While Obama was quick to congratulate Rouhani of Iran when he was elected, or Putin of Russia, he took his time to congratulate Netanyahu. Is Obama sending a message?
The White House expressed its displeasure with several of Netanyahu's pre-election comments, such as his reservations about allowing a Palestinian State to be created in Judea and Samaria, ‘not on my watch', and for his ‘divisive language' when he expressed his concern that Arab voters were voting in droves.
With regard to the first comment, Netanyahu implied that the timing was not propitious and that it would be unwise and even suicidal to hand over territory within a kilometer of the heartland of Israel, at a time when Islamic State, Hizbollah and Hamas, were all threatening the borders of Jordan and even Israel.
Experience in Southern Lebanon, and in Gaza has proved that the vacuum left by any Israeli withdrawal would quickly be filled by these Islamic fanatics hell-bent on Israel's destruction.
Both statements have been taken completely out of context and the adverse reactions to them by the US and by the EU, have emboldened the Palestinians and the Arab states. Nabil Elarabi, head of the Arab League, has already indicated that in view of these statements, they should consider a new resolution to the Security Council to recognize the Palestinian State, based on the pre-1967 borders.
It seems that whatever Netanyahu says, even taken out of context, is used to lambast Israel, while the Palestinians and even the Iranians can utter the most vile innuendo, with barely a consequence or murmur from the international community. On the threshold of a deal to curtail Iran's nuclear ambitions, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has just issued a call for ‘death to America', with America's appeasingly responding that it is satisfied that progress is being made.