Skip to main content

Israelis do not want a leader with vision

Israelis no longer want a leader with a vision, but rather a “strong leader” who will threaten the Palestinians with harsh actions and retaliation.
RTS35TL.jpg
Read in 

The morning of Oct. 7 began with a report of another knife attack in Jerusalem; the female attacker was shot and badly wounded. The police cordoned off the area, and the Shin Bet started an inquiry. Soon, the terrorist’s home will be demolished. Then, God forbid, we will hear of another Jewish family murdered on their way home to one of the settlements in the West Bank. Their friends will shout in front of the prime minister’s residence that we need a “strong hand” against the Palestinians. Neighbors will lay a cornerstone for another illegal outpost in the name of the victims, and hot-blooded youths will go out to set fire to the Arabs’ wheat fields in the adjoining village (the word “Palestinian” isn’t recognized in the language of the settlers). A few days ago, an exclusive video was broadcast on TV showing Israel Defense Forces Mista'arvim commando soldiers disguised as Palestinians charging into a hospital in Nablus and dragging out the suspect in the Oct. 1 murder of the Henkin couple; the suspect allegedly was injured in the attack. In the margins of the newscast it was mentioned that a Palestinian youth who was shot to death in Bethlehem was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Does someone remember his name? 

In the years following the signing of the Oslo Accord — in September 1993 and the months of the brief governments of Shimon Peres and Ehud Barak — the following became a familiar script: A Palestinian terrorist murders Israelis on their way to a settlement; Israeli security forces raid the neighboring Palestinian village; dozens of men are taken for questioning; the suspects are arrested, their homes demolished; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a protest rally against the government; the right accuses the “criminals who signed the Oslo Accord” of helplessness in the face of terror and calls for responding by building settlements throughout the territories. As the chairman of the opposition in those days, Netanyahu vigorously objected to the release of terrorists from prison, which was meant to be an incentive in the diplomatic process. He argued that the release of 400 Palestinian prisoners, a gesture by the Ehud Olmert government leading up to the Annapolis summit in 2007, was “not a path to peace but to terrorism.” 

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.