The vigilante attacks on the part of the settlers in Judea and Samaria cause damage both to innocent bystanders and also to national security. That said, the recent terrorist attack in Eli was the straw that broke the camel's back and the settlers are fed up of having to put up with a routine situation where they don't know if they will even arrive home safely.
The rocket fire from northern Samaria means Israel has reached a decision point. But it must not enter a dangerous adventure without having a clear diplomatic goal that complements the security objectives. The PA's role in the day after is also key.
In the absence of a shared destiny, we are liable to fall into the hands of our ill-wishers who rejoice at the division and hatred and the absurd historical comparisons to the greatest of our enemies.
Monday's arrest raid in Jenin, which necessitated the use of IDF attack aircraft for the first time in decades, indicates a dangerous increase in the level of violence in the region.
Unlike back in 2015, Netanyahu is not attacking the US and has not defined the emerging deal as “capitulation” or a “mistake of historic proportions”. Only a year ago, he lambasted Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid for “knuckling under” to the Americans. It is difficult to ignore the impression that this really is not the same person as in the past.
Ehud Barak, as has been revealed this week, is the de facto leader of the protests against judicial reform. His main motivation has nothing to do with the Supreme Court and everything to do with his own personal ego war against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
For around a decade I have claimed that there is a group of people within us who have chosen the “Samson Option.” In other words, if that group no longer leads Israeli society as it did for many years and if the state no longer obeys the imagined codex of values that they designated for us, then, “let me die with the Philistines” and declare a civil war.
In the current political climate, visitors to the Kohelet Policy Forum come with sandbags and placards reading “collaborators with dictators” and so forth. I simply came armed with just a few questions.
The very fact that the terrorist breached the barrier is a serious blunder: Built at a cost of billions of shekels, it should have allowed Israel to prevent the tragic attack on Saturday.
What Biden does and does not do on antisemitism will determine his future moves regarding Saudi Arabia. In order to bring about a breakthrough between Jerusalem and Riyadh, Biden has to go all the way, turning the policy toward Mohammed bin Salman on its head from a cold disassociation to a warm embrace.
