There is no issue pertaining to the Palestinians that ministers on the Right – specifically, Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Habayit Hayehudi) and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beytenu) – won't jump on to tell Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, à la Annie Oakley: Anything you can do, I can do better.
The bill to deduct the wages the Palestinian Authority pays to terrorists' families from the taxes Israel collects for it is both appropriate and long overdue. But will this solve the current terror problem in the south, along the Gaza border, where thousands of Israeli civilians have become hostage to Hamas' cross-border arson campaign? The right-wing government, or the State of Israel in general, is an expert at closing the stable door on a certain type of terrorism long after the horses have bolted.
Regardless, one version or another of this bill needs to be ratified. It won't do us any good if ministers on the right stymie the bill altogether by insisting on its original version. It has already been proven that laws, or lack thereof, impact casualty figures. Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman MK Avi Dichter aptly illustrated this by presenting the appalling figures on Palestinians who have committed deadly terrorist attacks after receiving Israeli citizenship.
Netanyahu is anxious over even the slightest tremor capable of undermining the diplomatic structure he has architected. He is juggling quite a few balls in the air. Hence the postponed demolition of illegally constructed Bedouin homes near the village of Susya. It could upset Netanyahu's delicate balancing act ahead of his meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah, and could also send Democratic Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky into a fit.
He cannot use the appropriate amount of force against Hamas in Gaza – because doing so could disrupt the next steps against Iran in Syria. And generally speaking, the Netanyahu-led government has had a nice record of diplomatic successes; it would be a shame to see that ruined because of some unplanned little war during the soccer World Cup.
It is also why the prime minister wants to control the cash flow for terrorists and their families. Again, there are good reasons for this. PA President Mahmoud Abbas gets screwed from all directions. There is diplomatic momentum. You cannot afford to agitate the House of Saud and the Hashemite royal family.
Just a short while ago, an American administration official took umbrage with fresh mutterings in Israel about possible American recognition of Israeli sovereignty on the Golan Heights. One of the more important congressional committees, however, is actually intrigued by the idea. An Israeli policy expert was invited to testify before Congress on the matter, and he of course immediately received a message from high up: Drop it.
Why talk about sovereignty on the Golan Heights when we are doing a good job convincing U.S. Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt to recognize our sovereignty over the last line of homes in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo?
