Some may think that Netanyahu's speeches are controversial, but he is always interesting and worth listening to. Whether it's his speech to the US Congress or his speeches at the United Nations. In Netanyahu's speech to the UN on September 29, 2014, he said the following:
Netanyahu's domestic naysayers will say, perhaps, that this is just another Netanyahu ploy to avoid any real peace process with the Palestinians, because Netanyahu's coalition is 'extreme right' and against any kind of settlement of the conflict, as he is himself. (This argument avoids the inconvenient fact that Avigdor Liberman is no longer in the Coalition.)
Now, there has been an interesting development. The Egyptian President said on September 27, 2015, ahead of Netanyahu's UN speech in an interview with the Associated Press, that efforts should be renewed to solve the Palestinian issue and expand Egypt's nearly 40-year-peace with Israel to include more Arab countries. And so, we see that Netanyahu's 2014 vision for ending the Palestinian conflict--and indeed it is a vision--is slowly but surely beginning to take shape. To Netanyahu's credit, he understood the opportunity of a changed Middle East after the so-called Arab Spring and identified the way to move carefully forward.
Whether you agree or disagree with Netanyahu, I suggest that we all watch his United Nations speech on Thursday, October 1. It will definitely be interesting and worthy of comment.
Despite the enormous challenges facing Israel, I believe we have an historic opportunity.In other words, Netanyahu suggested first working with other Arab countries in the region that have common interests with Israel as a catalyst for a productive peace process with the Palestinians. This idea had been broached in the past but conditions were perhaps not ripe for progress.
After decades of seeing Israel as their enemy, leading states in the Arab world increasingly recognize that together we and they face many of the same dangers: principally this means a nuclear-armed Iran and militant Islamist movements gaining ground in the Sunni world.
Our challenge is to transform these common interests to create a productive partnership. One that would build a more secure, peaceful and prosperous Middle East.
Together we can strengthen regional security. We can advance projects in water, agriculture, in transportation, in health, in energy, in so many fields.
I believe the partnership between us can also help facilitate peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Many have long assumed that an Israeli-Palestinian peace can help facilitate a broader rapprochement between Israel and the Arab World. But these days I think it may work the other way around: Namely that a broader rapprochement between Israel and the Arab world may help facilitate an Israeli-Palestinian peace.
And therefore, to achieve that peace, we must look not only to Jerusalem and Ramallah, but also to Cairo, to Amman, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and elsewhere. I believe peace can be realized with the active involvement of Arab countries, those that are willing to provide political, material and other indispensable support. I’m ready to make a historic compromise ....
Netanyahu's domestic naysayers will say, perhaps, that this is just another Netanyahu ploy to avoid any real peace process with the Palestinians, because Netanyahu's coalition is 'extreme right' and against any kind of settlement of the conflict, as he is himself. (This argument avoids the inconvenient fact that Avigdor Liberman is no longer in the Coalition.)
Now, there has been an interesting development. The Egyptian President said on September 27, 2015, ahead of Netanyahu's UN speech in an interview with the Associated Press, that efforts should be renewed to solve the Palestinian issue and expand Egypt's nearly 40-year-peace with Israel to include more Arab countries. And so, we see that Netanyahu's 2014 vision for ending the Palestinian conflict--and indeed it is a vision--is slowly but surely beginning to take shape. To Netanyahu's credit, he understood the opportunity of a changed Middle East after the so-called Arab Spring and identified the way to move carefully forward.
Whether you agree or disagree with Netanyahu, I suggest that we all watch his United Nations speech on Thursday, October 1. It will definitely be interesting and worthy of comment.
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