Netanyahu fumbles diplomatic process
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could have seized an opportunity at the Paris march to walk alongside Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a display of unity against terror, but preferred to ignore him and focus on his electorate.
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his way to the front row of the unity march in Paris Jan. 11, he shook hands with Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and linked arms with him as they marched down the streets of the French capital. The day after, long articles appeared in Israel’s media focusing on colorful, grotesque descriptions of the Israeli prime minister. Not only was Netanyahu unwelcome at the event, he had even taken the liberty to elbow his way to the head of the march, led by French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Another motive behind Netanyahu’s actions, one which was not addressed significantly, was his conscious choice to find the furthest possible spot on the line from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas also participated in the memorial rally for the terror victims, including the Jewish victims from the Hyper Cacher kosher grocery store.
Ostensibly, Netanyahu could have exploited the opportunity to shake the hand of the Palestinian leader at an international event against terror and even march at his side. But a photo of such an encounter is, of course, the last thing Netanyahu needs in the midst of an election campaign, competing for the right-wing vote.
No one knows better than Netanyahu that many Israeli citizens are sick and tired of the diplomatic process, and they view Abbas as the head of a terrorist entity. After all, it was Netanyahu — as chairman of the opposition and then as prime minister — who was the turbo engine behind the brainwashing of the Israeli public into believing that Abbas had become an irrelevant, terror-supporting personage. Netanyahu is well aware of Abbas’ anti-terror activities throughout the last decade, including during the Protective Edge campaign, and that Abbas is also considered an enemy of Hamas. This is the same Hamas that proclaimed, following Abbas' decision to participate in the Paris march, that the move “is part of the hypocrisy and political juggling act Abbas is used to” performing. But instead of making the self-evident distinction between Abbas and Hamas leaders (Hamas is renounced in the Arab world, too), Netanyahu the disciplined campaigner keeps his distance from the chairman of the Palestinian Authority.
