Skip to main content

Is Israel's opposition leader siding with Bibi against French initiative?

It seems that Zionist Camp leader Isaac Herzog is more interested in entering the coalition and becoming foreign minister than he is at promoting the French initiative to advance the two-state solution.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) shakes hands with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on May 15, 2016 during a meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem.Ayrault met Netanyahu before meeting Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas ahead of a France-sponsored Middle East peace process summit in Paris on May 30. Israel has rejected the initiative, the Palestinians support it and the United States has been cold. REUTERS/ MENAHEM KAHANA/Pool - RTSECIN
Read in 

The timing of the May 15 Jerusalem visit by French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault could not have been more perfect, killing as it did two birds with one stone.

First, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to cooperate with the French peace initiative dealt a blow to the very essence of Israel’s public diplomacy — the claim that Israel yearns for peace but does not have a Palestinian partner. The cold shoulder that Netanyahu gave the French diplomatic initiative confirms that the speech he delivered seven years ago at Bar-Ilan University, declaring his commitment to the two-state solution, was not worth the paper it was written on. On the other hand, the warm response of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to that same initiative illustrates to the international community that the peace rejectionist does not necessarily reside in the Palestinian West Bank city of Ramallah.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.