The Washington Times’s Eli Lake reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will say in his speech this weekend that he is prepared to accept Palestinian statehood under the following conditions:
Lake characterizes this recognition by Netanyahu as a "major shift," while Spencer Ackerman quips that the prime minister is "stepping boldly into 1993." The third paragraph is likely to be the most contentious condition, and creates a brand new issue for negotiations that didn’t really really need any new issues. I think accepting a Palestinian state is indeed a major shift from Netanyahu, though crucially, it’s one that doesn’t really require him to do very much while deflecting attention away from the one active thing that Israel hasn’t done since 1993, freezing settlement growth in the West Bank…
[Ackerman’s quote – priceless!] Considering that it’s Netanhahu, it’s a good enough start. He avoids the big issue – settlements – and he’s tough on Israel’s power. But, after all, he is Netanyahu. So I read this as an attempt to reach out in his way. We’ll see how long they bicker back and forth this time before they let us know if they can actually sit down at a table together and talk about a two-state solution that’s actually possible.
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