Peres: Netanyahu was never sincere about making peace

[Little Tich]

Source: Times of Israel

Ex-president says PM’s overtures have never ‘escaped the domain of talking,’ and warns against his notion of continually ‘living by the sword’

AP — Over a seven-decade career in politics, Shimon Peres has helped guide Israel through wars and existential threats. But now, with the country embroiled in a new wave of violence, the 92-year-old elder statesman worries that if its leaders do not get serious about pursuing peace with the Palestinians, it will be in an eternal state of war and will risk losing its Jewish majority.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Monday, Peres said that Netanyahu’s peace overtures have never “escaped the domain of talking.

“A politician and a government should be judged by one way only, on the record of what you do or did, not on what you say,” he said.

The former president made no secret of his belief that the values he and the assassinated prime minister Yitzhak Rabin inherited from Israel’s founding father, David Ben-Gurion, were in jeopardy.

Read more: http://www.timesofisrael.com/peres-netanyahu-was-never-sincere-about-making-peace/

[6chars]

1. Maybe Peres would prefer a Labour led government

[geek tragedy]

2. Well, that's what Israeli voters want--someone to tell them they're not the

ones being unreasonable. Maintaining the status quo and pointing the finger at the Palestinians is a lot more popular than any of the alternatives. What's important is that the Israelis think of themselves as willing to make peace via negotiations and concessions, not actually making peace via negotiations and concessions.

The current outbreak of violence isn't enough of a price tag for that calculus to change.