The negative reaction to President Obama's speach by Benjamin Netenyahu - specifically the suggestion that the borders revert to pre-1967 with some adjustments, indicates that Israel under the current adminstration has no intention ever of recognizing the Palestinian right to a homeland. The excuse this time is that those borders were "indefensible". The justification for rejection is new and is based on the optics. It makes the Israeli position of holding on to illegal communities in the West Bank a non-issue. Or it attempts to do so. It is, on the surface, an eminently reasonable position.
It is not. Israel has no problem defending the pre-1967 border. It had successfully defended the border and then went on the offensive. This justification is meant to muddy the waters. The IDF is the most powerful military in the region and, furthemore, does not need to contend with either the Jordian or Egyptian military. Syria is contrained for two reasons. The first is that its angle of attack is extraordinarily poor. The second is that its military is a joke.
No. This Israeli government is unwilling to discuss a Palestinian state. And one will be coming by September.
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