Netanyahu drops diplomacy in re-election bid
Sensing the disillusionment of the Israeli public over the Palestinian issue, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has focused his campaign agenda elsewhere.
Only little public or political debate has been generated by the fascinating Feb. 12 expose on the Walla news website, according to which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pulled out of a framework agreement with the Palestinians in July 2011, at the last minute. This is the case despite its importance to an electorate that will choose Israel’s next prime minister March 17.
According to journalist Avi Issacharoff, President Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority, had conducted advanced talks for a year, with Netanyahu’s knowledge, and formulated a framework agreement for renewing negotiations between the two sides. The framework agreement was based on the familiar plan for two states within the 1967 lines and with land swaps, with discussion of the refugee and Jerusalem issues to be postponed to negotiations on a permanent agreement.
