Israel leaders at odds over response to Palestinian UN bid

[azurnoir]

Four days before the UN votes on the Palestinians' bid to upgrade its status to that of a "non-member observer state," the State of Israel has yet to form any official position on the matter. The UN General Assembly is expected to grant the appeal, and members of the Israeli leadership have expressed various positions in regards to the political response.

According to Yedioth Ahronoth, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is certain that Israel should respond fiercely and topple the rule of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. On the other hand, those who advocate a more moderate approach claim that Israel's political power is limited after the Gaza operation and that Israel should therefore judge Abbas by his actions after the bid.

Those behind this approach – including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon and ministers Dan Meridor and Benny Begin – claim that only if the Palestinian president files suits against Israel in the International Criminal Court in the Hague, then Israel should perceive him as a hostile entity and work towards taking down his government.

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz spoke out in favor of freezing funds to the Palestinian Authority in case the Palestinian UN bid passes the UN vote.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4312013,00.html

[aranthus]

1. Bibi the moderate? Who'd a thunk it.

In this case, he's right.

[bemildred]

2. Strange stuff indeed. nt

[azurnoir]

4. It could get worse

Likud primaries: Feiglin in, Begin and Meridor out

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4312089,00.html

[bemildred]

5. Yes, it almost certainly will now.

However, old verities cannot be relied on at this point, it has to dawn on the Israeli electorate at some point that these clowns are incompetent, and Bibi has pushed his luck too far internationally, this was NOT the time to raise a rukus in Gaza for political reasons.

I'm just glad Israeli elections don't go on forever like ours do.

[Alamuti Lotus]

3. so the opinions range from "destroy them now" to "destroy them later"

how bizarre it is when the moderate stance is "grudgingly accept it now because we're not strong enough to destroy them, but destroy them later if they do something we don't like".