Top official: PM leading Israel to disaster

Jerusalem official says Netanyahu 'discounts the entire world' and is not interested in resuming peace talks. 'This will all blow up in our faces,' he warns

Itamar Eichner|Published: 12.25.12 , 12:40

"Benjamin Netanyahu wants to go down in history with only one thing - Iran," a senior official in Jerusalem told Yedioth Ahronoth this week.

"The prime minister discounts the entire world. He is not interested in the Palestinians, but this will all blow up in our faces. The Netanyahu government is leading Israel towards a disaster," said the official, who asked to remain anonymous.

According to the official, if Netanyahu refuses to return to the negotiation table after the January elections, Israel will "lose the world."

The official warned that "what happened at the UN, when the US remained alone (as the only Security Council Member not to issue a statement condemning Israel's settlement construction plans), won't repeat itself. Europe has had enough. Should the Islamic countries declare a boycott against Israel, the whole world will follow suit.

"Israel's economy is heavily dependent on revenues from exports, and exporting is based on good will. If we kill the good will – our exports will suffer and Israel will be plunged into a deep financial crisis," the official speculated.

The senior official said peace negotiations are not likely to resume after the elections due to the conditions set by the prime minister. "You can't go wild and announce construction in east Jerusalem every other day at a time when peace talks are stalled. The Arabs consider this an attempt to 'Judaize' Jerusalem and they will not let it pass," said the official.

'Diplomatic failure.' Pillar of Defense (Photo: AFP)

"Netanyahu is ignoring the fact that (Palestinian President Mahmoud) Abbas is working to calm the situation on the ground. Instead, (former Foreign Minister Avigdor) Lieberman tells the world that there is no point in negotiating with the Palestinians until they reach a GDP of $10,000. Arab leaders are saying that the two-state solution is dead and that a binational state should be the goal. This will destroy Israel as a Jewish state," the official told Yedioth Ahronoth.

According to the official, Netanyahu's policy has failed miserably. "Operation Pillar of Defense was a military success, but a colossal diplomatic failure. The diplomatic goal was to deal a severe blow to Hamas, but the result is that Israel is negotiating with Hamas and not with Abbas. Netanyahu bolstered Hamas and weakened Abbas. If elections were held now, Hamas would seize control of the West Bank," he said.

The official claimed that Abbas is the last Palestinian leader who will be able to sign a peace agreement with Israel. "Abbas courageously said that he was against terror and in favor of peace and a demilitarized state. He said he would not return to Safed. He is prepared to end the conflict.

"Instead of supporting him, Bibi and Lieberman scold him when he does not condemn (Hamas politburo chief) Khaled Mashaal. Netanyahu does not want to give up what must be given up. The settlers take up 2% of the West Bank, but Netanyahu wants to keep 10% of the territory in Israel's hands," the official argued.

The official said the recent developments in the Middle East require a major change in policy. "Now that Syria is burning and a Muslim Brotherhood government has been established south of Israel, we must reconcile with Turkey – even at the price of an apology (over the Marmara incident). It would be irresponsible not to do this, but Lieberman and the extremists within Likud are not allowing the prime minister to do it," he added.

"Netanyahu is leading a foreign policy of a sheep that roars like a lion, instead of a lion in sheep's clothing. We roar, but we forget that we don't really have the power to back up our threats."