How Netanyahu and Abbas are fighting not to lose blame game with Trump Jerusalem Post, May 12, 2017, Yaakov Katz
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I tell this story since a similar scenario is playing out now with the Taylor Force Act, a bill that Sen. Lindsey Graham is trying to push through the Senate to block US aid to the PA as long as it continues paying salaries to terrorists in Israeli prisons and pensions to the families of dead terrorists.
While the law is ethically and morally right, it couldn’t be more of a political land mine right now for Netanyahu.
On the one hand, he can’t come out against the bill since it would damage him politically like in 2011. He also can’t come out publicly and endorse the bill, since he does not want to be seen undermining President Donald Trump’s upcoming peace initiative. If Trump doesn’t support it, Netanyahu can’t either.
So what does he do instead? He slams the PA repeatedly for its “pay-to-slay” policy but always stops short of publicly endorsing the bill. Rhetoric is one thing. Lobbying the Hill on something that could torpedo the president’s peace initiative is another.
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Practically speaking, here is what is likely to happen during the trip: Trump will meet with Netanyahu and Abbas – maybe he’ll try to get them together – and then he will announce the resumption of peace talks. Some predictions are that he will also limit the talks by time.
Neither side has much faith in the other and anyhow the overwhelming assumption in Jerusalem is that the maximum Israel can give the Palestinians will never meet the minimum that they can accept.
That is why both sides are maneuvering now so as to be able to put up a strong defense when the blame game starts. Neither Abbas nor Netanyahu want to be blamed for the failure of the talks and get on the bad side of the most unpredictable American president in recent history.
Abbas is already sending the right signals. During his meetings in Washington last week he gave the clear impression that he is prepared to reach a peace deal more than he has ever been in the past.
“He said he understands that he is 82 years old and that time is running out,” explained one US official familiar with the talks Trump held with Abbas.
Since the meeting, the PA has made sure to publicize a steady stream of news reports demonstrating its purported newfound flexibility. If in the past, Abbas said he wouldn’t meet Netanyahu unless settlement construction was suspended, now he seems to be saying that he is prepared to meet with the Israeli leader without preconditions.
And if in the past, the PA was reluctant to agree to land swaps – a recognition that some settlements will remain Israeli under a peace deal – now it is saying that it is prepared for this, even for larger swaths of territory than before.
One of the people responsible for this change is Ronald Lauder, the American billionaire and current head of the World Jewish Congress, who is one of the closest people to President Trump. Lauder has known Trump for over 50 years and calls him a “great and true friend” of Israel.
Before Abbas met Trump last week, he stopped by Lauder’s house for dinner and got briefed on tactics to win over the president. He has spent countless hours with both Abbas and Trump advising them on ways to renew the peace process. In some ways, it seems that Lauder has bypassed Sheldon Adelson as the most influential Jew in Trump’s circle.
On the surface this should be a good thing for Netanyahu.
Lauder and Netanyahu used to be the closest of friends and in the late 1990s, the American businessman served as the prime minister’s personal secret envoy to Syria.
The problem is that the two have not spoken in years, the result of a fallout they had after Channel 10 – which Lauder used to partially own – ran a series of stinging reports against Netanyahu.
So even though they know each other well, Lauder’s involvement has Netanyahu on edge.
The challenge for Netanyahu is huge. If Abbas has really made concessions, he will also need to, something that will be difficult within his current coalition. While Naftali Bennett is unlikely to bolt the government over the launching of talks, concessions – like prisoner releases or a settlement freeze – could push him to pull Bayit Yehudi out of the government.
So how do you prepare for an unpredictable president? For the most part, you remain quiet as Netanyahu largely has in recent weeks. You also don’t do anything – like announce new settlement plans – that could be interpreted as undermining the president’s efforts.
Abba Eban, the late articulate Israeli statesman, once said: “The Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” This is what Netanyahu, Bennett and the rest of the cabinet are hoping will happen once again.
The problems will begin if it doesn’t.
More:
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Editors-Notes-Dont-lose-the-blame-game-490526
