Knesset Member Israel Hasson shudders each time anew when he encounters [former Foreign Minister] Avigdor Liberman’s insulting attitude toward Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen. But what is even more grave, in Hasson’s opinion, is the silence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who says nothing while his Likud-Beiteinu partner Liberman turns Abu Mazen into his private punching bag. This, Hasson feels, is the main barrier preventing the renewal of negotiations with the Palestinians.
Foreign Minister Liberman passed up no opportunities in the last four years to irk Abu Mazen without anyone attempting to restrain him. Liberman belittled him, called for his dismissal, or just “looked forward to his retirement.” “Liberman can say what he wants, but the bigger problem is the prime minister’s silence that tacitly backed him up,” said Hasson this week in an interview with Al-Monitor. “Without even addressing the issue of ‘Arab honor’ and basic manners, Liberman’s statements and Bibi’s silence expressed arrogance and a feeling of euphoria . Since when does the state of Israel talk this way to a leader? The attitude toward Abu Mazen was humiliating, I thought. What did they expect of him — that after the Foreign Minister says, authoritatively and with [Netanyahu’s tacit] permission, that Abu Mazen is not relevant and should be dumped — that Abu Mazen will enter the negotiating room with a smile on his face?”