CHICAGO
\nIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netaynahu is \u201cnot a friend of peace\u201d and is using his right-wing government coalition and the conflict with the Palestinians to further delay his own corruption trial and avoid justice, a leading Israeli analyst said this week.
\nYossi Mekelberg, an associate fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House in London, told the \u201cRay Hanania Radio Show\u201d that Netanyahu has been deliberately prolonging the war in Gaza to serve his own interests, rather than the interests of the people on both sides.
\nAn important change that is required from the international community if hopes for a two-state solution are to be salvaged is an expansion of the peace process to increase the role of other nations besides the US and help change the discourse surrounding the conflict, he said, while Washington must consider what is the best path forward for achieving its own goals.
\n\u201cWhat about the American interest; where does the American interest lie?\u201d asked Mekelberg, who is also a columnist for Arab News. \u201c(US Secretary of State Antony) Blinken, now on his ninth visit to the region, is almost begging for a ceasefire.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s (bad) enough that Netanyahu is delaying and delaying and adding new conditions (to the peace negotiations), while (the conflict) is linked also to the possibility or the threat and the danger of a regional war. This is where it intersects with the American interest: the implications of a regional war for American interests. So the discussion should also be what is good for America.
\n\u201cI think the United States is crucial (to the process). What I don\u2019t like, sometimes, when it comes to this discussion with Europeans, whenever I have a discussion (about the conflict) with officials from the European Union they say it\u2019s only the Americans (who have the power to end the conflict). I think the EU can play a part. I think the (Arab) region can play a very important part.
\n\u201cSo just to look and say there is only one peace broker \u2026 that\u2019s not right. Especially when one side doesn\u2019t really trust this peace broker. So, I think we need a coalition of peace brokers.\u201d
\nMekelberg said a key factor that continues to fuel the conflict is Netanyahu\u2019s partnership with far-right parties within his coalition government.
\nNetanyahu was indicted on Nov. 21, 2019, on charges of breach of trust, accepting bribes and fraud. A trial began in Israel on May 24, 2020, but has yet to conclude, Mekelberg said, because of the efforts by Netanyahu\u2019s right-wing government to undermine judicial and legal processes in Israel.
\n\u201cThey say that every country gets the leader it deserves; I think in the case of the Israeli government, the punishment is way bigger than the sin,\u201d he added.
\n\u201cSo I think Israel deserves better leadership. You know, the only conclusion I can reach is that Netanyahu is not interested in a peace-based, two-state solution \u2014 which for all the faults and all the misgivings that one might have about a two-state solution, it\u2019s still the best alternative, the best option.\u201d
\nMekelberg believes part of Netanyahu\u2019s approach to Hamas prior to the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel last year, including the funneling of funding to the group, was to maintain \u201cthe divisions among Palestinians, between Fatah and Hamas, the West Bank and Gaza\u201d with the aim of \u201cderailing any hope of a two-state solution.\u201d He added: \u201cSo if this is the solution that can bring peace, I don\u2019t think Netanyahu is in any shape or form a supporter of it.
\n\u201cAt the end of the day, neither this government nor Netanyahu are friends of peace \u2026 it\u2019s more a government that (seeks) the annexation of the West Bank, and some even talk about the occupation or reoccupation of Gaza and building settlements there.\u201d Mekelberg said the opposition from Netanyahu and his government to a two-state solution plays into their own political interests, is fueling the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and preventing peace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CHICAGO Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netaynahu is \u201cnot a friend of peace\u201d and is using his right-wing government coalition and the conflict with the Palestinians to further delay his own corruption trial and avoid justice, a leading Israeli analyst said this week. Yossi Mekelberg, an associate fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Program …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":60732,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69486"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69499,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69486\/revisions\/69499"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}