By Ludwig Watzal
Benyamin Netanyahu’s hyperventilated fury didn’t surprise anybody.
Even before the first outlines of a possible long-term agreement
between Iran and the West on Iran’s nuclear program were publicized,
Israel’s Prime Minister categorically rejected any such agreement.
This irrational behavior disqualifies him as a serious partner to
other heads of states. His extremism goes even as far as to promote
further sanctions against Iran. Netanyahu wants Iran to capitulate and
abolish its entire nuclear industry. He announced that Israel does not
feel bound by the agreement. Netanyahu arrogates Israel a right to
override decisions by UN Security Council members.
That Western leaders should consult the leader of a tiny country
before they act shows the imaginary power they attribute to Netanyahu.
To seek advice from Netanyahu shows how intimidated Western
politicians are. By now, they should be aware of his hostility to
peace, be it with Iran or the Palestinians. How submissively the
United States act, is shown by the phone call between Obama and
Netanyahu and by Secretary of State Kerry’s visit to Jerusalem, as if
they needed Netanyahu’s blessing for the negotiations with Iran. The
best political strategy would be to ignore him.
What infuriated Netanyahu and made him go wild was John Kerry’s
statement made in Bethlehem: “We consider now and have always
considered the settlements to be illegitimate.” The U. S. has finally
returned to its erstwhile stance that all Israeli settlements are
contrary to international law, after they have gone astray under Bill
Clinton and George W. Bush junior. Netanyahu appears increasingly
isolated with regard to the Iran deal. He appears willing to do
anything to derail a possible agreement between the US and Iran. His
last weapons are the political bull terriers of the American Israeli
Public Affairs Committee, better known as AIPAC, and their supporters
in the US Congress. But Netanyahu is increasingly a political
nuisance, not only for the Obama administration but also for other
power. For the last 25 years it has been his mantra to warn that a
nuclear Iran is just around the corner.
Netanyahu and the war party in the U. S. will do everything in their
power to prevent an agreement between Iran and the West. Netanyahu
exerts not only great influence on the U. S. Congress via AIPAC, but
does so personally, as his last speech before both Houses in May 2012
has shown, during which U. S. lawmakers outdid themselves in
celebrating his reactionary speech. AIPAC could try to arrange again
another such ridiculous circus. That doesn’t mean that Netanyahu would
make it this time, knowing that he would jeopardize the recently
improved relations with the Obama administration.
The political charade, which Netanyahu performs, has nothing to do
with the imaginary Iranian nuclear threat. The Israeli political
establishment knows this and fears that it would lose its hegemony
over the entire Middle East and Northern Africa if Iran would go
nuclear. The late Israel Shahak has pointed out in his book “Open
Secrets. Israeli Nuclear and Foreign Policies”, that Israel’s main
goal is to maintain its hegemony from India to Mauritania.
The political interests of the Western powers and Israel are not the
same. The West has suffered heavy economic losses by bowing to Israeli
interests; especially U. S. soldier had to pay a high prize in Iraq.
Netanyahu can perhaps bamboozle the U.S. government again, but
Israel’s relationship with Europe is on a downward slide. Europe, and
especially Germany, can look back on an enduring friendship with Iran.
This friendship should not be damaged by unregenerate politicians.
Germany would do well to normalize its relations and reestablish its
traditionally excellent relations with Iran, regardless of the outcome
of the U.S-Iran negotiations.
By now, the U. S. and the other Western countries should have
understood that Netanyahu as well as former Israeli governments have
been torpedoing every chance for a peace agreement with the
Palestinians, because their colonial hunger for land has not yet been
satisfied. The so-called peace negotiations, which are once again
taking place, is likely to go nowhere because the Netanyahu government
is not willing to make any real concessions that fall short of total
surrender by the Palestinians.
– Dr. Ludwig Watzal works as a journalist and editor in Bonn, Germany.
He runs the bilingual blog: Between the lines. He contributed this
article to PalestineChronicle.com.- Eurasia Review
