A friend of Netanyahu presents his own solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Nahum Barnea, one of Israel’s leading political and diplomatic correspondents, had an interesting item at the end of his weekly feature in Yedioth Ahronoth. The Hebrew version is at the end of this post; this is my translation:
A few years back, a known American billionaire, Sarah [Netanyahu’s] friend […], gathered a group of Israelis and gave them the following speech: “I hear that one Avigdor Lieberman is proposing land swaps with the Palestinians. What is this lefty thinking? We shouldn’t propose anything to them. Deport, that’s what is needed. Every last Palestinian.”
The prime minister has a tough, almost impossible mission: to satisfy [Secretary of State John] Kerry without upsetting his billionaire friend too much. Or the other way around: satisfy the billionaire without upsetting Kerry too much. Two Americans and one land of Israel.
This billionaire has a group of Israelis who [eat] out of the palm of his hand. When they suddenly and savagely attack Kerry, Netanyahu gets the message: today it’s Kerry; tomorrow it’s me.
Israel Hayom, Israel’s most widely read paper, is published at a considerable loss and distributed for free by Sheldon Adelson. The paper, which is known for its right-wing line and support of Netanyahu, featured a personal attack on Kerry as its top headline on Thursday. It cited anonymous cabinet sources who questioned the secretary of state’s understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian issue (“superficial”), called him “obsessive” and referred to his plan for the Jordan Valley as “ridiculous.”
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