Skip to main content

Netanyahu must prove 'good faith' to restart peace talks

If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is genuinely interested in promoting a new diplomatic peace initiative, he must demonstrate his willingness with actions, such as releasing Palestinian prisoners and working to bolster the Palestinian Authority rather than Hamas.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem June 7, 2015. REUTERS/Sebastian Scheiner/ Pool - RTX1FH4S
Read in 

Among the thousands of lines written in recent days about the cultural clash between Israeli artists and Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev and the exploits of Knesset member Oren Hazan, astute readers managed to find a few words about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. My colleague Ben Caspit wrote for Al-Monitor June 10 that the need to renew negotiations and return to the two-state solution is once again getting significant mileage in the speeches of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He assessed that the speech Netanyahu delivered at the Herzliya diplomatic gathering was “a first, cautious trial balloon of sorts for what political sources in Israel call his ‘autumn restart.’” Caspit was referring specifically to a diplomatic initiative that Netanyahu will set in motion as soon as the Iranian issue is off the table at the end of June (if an agreement is indeed reached between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany).

Caspit listed the aims of the initiative one by one: getting Isaac Herzog’s Zionist Camp into Netanyahu's coalition; rehabilitating the relationship with the United States; easing the growing tensions between Israel and Europe and the international community; and hampering the boycotts and delegitimization campaign being conducted against Israel in recent months. Indeed, these goals individually and collectively serve the interests of the State of Israel. Nonetheless, this important list is lacking.

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.