The March 3 speech by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the US Congress is expected to focus on the Iranian threat, but the Israeli public — and the American one, for that matter — probably also expect to hear a few words on the “Palestinian threat.” The premier and Likud Party chair must clarify his actual stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Is it the position he expressed less than three years ago from the same congressional podium, or what he says today at home?
Indeed, in his loudly praised May 2011 speech, Netanyahu declared, “In any peace agreement that ends the conflict, some settlements will end up beyond Israel’s borders.” To prevent any misunderstandings, the prime minister promised, “We will be very generous on the size of a future Palestinian state … I am willing to make painful compromises to achieve this historic peace.” Netanyahu has used the word ''peace'' in his congressional addresses no fewer than 64 times. Today, it seems, the word has been eliminated from the vocabulary of the ruling party's upper echelons.