Only those privy to all the facts can determine what price Israel can afford to pay for the return of the hostages
At least 11 ministers and 15 Knesset members have a concrete plan for “the day after.” As yet another Israeli surrender deal took shape in Paris, right-wing ministers and MKs gathered at a conference in Jerusalem to demand the renewal of the Jewish settlement in Gaza and the rebuilding of Gush Katif, the settlement bloc evacuated as part of the disengagement in 2005.
The conference on Sunday last week ended with jubilant dancing to the tune of “Hoshia es Amecha,” but sometimes it seems that the first thing the Jewish People need yeshuah from is the government’s own policy.
Like the father reprimanding his son for pointing out his A in Choir amid an otherwise bleak report card (“With such grades, how can you sing?”), the Israel public was irritated by the festive atmosphere at the conference.
Netanyahu himself was quick to disavow the vision of resettlement in Gaza, clarifying that his position hasn’t changed. But I was told separately by two ministers who participated in the conference, Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf of UTJ and Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli of the Likud, that Netanyahu hadn’t said a word to them about it. This double game serves Netanyahu vis-à-vis the Americans, allowing him to portray himself as having his hands full resisting the right’s pressure for renewing the Jewish settlement in Gaza, just as he did with the right-wing protests blocking the entrance of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
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