Will European pressure push Netanyahu on right track?

Former Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban used to say that Israeli politicians make the right decisions only after making every mistake possible. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes the right decision only after using up all his tricks. This is how he has managed for years to deepen the occupation but talk about a two-state solution; expand the settlement enterprise but be welcomed with open arms by states that view the settlements as a violation of international law; be reprimanded by the Germans but get a submarine from them at a deep discount and lease them drones for a fortune. Will the May 1 report in the German magazine Der Spiegel about the German government's re-evaluation of its policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict push Netanyahu closer to the bottom of his bag of tricks? Might he soon be making the right decisions regarding the conflict with the Palestinians?

Summary : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces European pressure to advance talks with the Palestinians while the Likud simultaneously pushes for continued settlement expansion.

Author :Akiva Eldar
Posted May 3, 2016
Translator Ruti Sinai


Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/05/germany-angela-merkel-benjamin-netanyahu-statement-berlin.html#ixzz482kjwDKV