Wiping Palestinians Off the Agenda

[Purveyor]

At the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) last week the Israeli Prime Minister succeeded and failed simultaneously. With a cartoonish display, Benjamin Netanyahu managed to become the laughing stock of the internet as parodied images of his bomb chart filled blogs and websites. Iran’s nuclear program, which is something the Israelis have demanded the world take seriously, became a subject of jest. But at the same time something else happened: by the time Netanyahu was done with his classroom antics, no one even remembered that Mahmoud Abbas, the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), had spoken just minutes before.

Abbas, for his part, delivered an important speech even though it contained little in terms of a clear strategy for moving forward. There were, however, noticeable shifts in the language he chose to use, including emphasis on “ethnic cleansing,” “apartheid,” and “boycott.” Abbas has long been seen as a moderate Palestinian voice by Washington and his adoption of this language may well be a veiled message that it’s becoming too difficult to maintain cooperation and moderation while there is no progress toward Palestinian self-determination. Most importantly, Abbas took the opportunity to warn the world of the ongoing and impending Nakba the Palestinians are experiencing at the hands of Israeli occupation. Here, in a hall of world leaders, Abbas stood, literally saying that the Palestinian people are being “wiped off the map.”

Enter Netanyahu, and his cartoon. Abbas’s warning was all but forgotten.

What we saw at the UNGA last week was a microcosm of a much larger and ongoing strategy on the part of Netanyahu: to use the Iranian issue to make the Palestinian issue disappear.

MORE...

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/04/wiping-palestinians-off-the-agenda.html

[still_one]

1. It won't disappear

[shira]

2. With the Arab Spring/Winter going on, the Palestinian issue....

...takes a big back-seat in comparison.

Everyone knows Abbas and the PLO are not interested in a peace deal. They don't find it necessary to divert attention away from the Arab Winter or Iran in order to focus on a lost cause.

[azurnoir]

3. ah but the Palestinians have not been wiped off the agenda

their request for nonmember state status is still there and active

[oberliner]

4. Yes, what a dumb article

"There will be a significant discussion ... with regard to what should be the status of the Palestinian authority inside the General Assembly, it looks like it is going to come before the end of this year," he said.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/indepth/2012-10/05/c_131889072.htm

Very much on the agenda.

[azurnoir]

5. perhaps the Palestinians have been wiped from public attention at the present time

but they will be returning in due time

[oberliner]

6. And Abbas didn't look like an idiot

Whereas Netanyahu on the other hand was ridiculous.

[azurnoir]

7. well ya I chalked it up to an attempt on Netanyahu's part to be

self depreciating or humorous, however out of character that is for him

[shira]

8. He got what he wanted from Obama....

After his Wile-E-Coyote impersonation, Netanyahu apparently promised not to attack Iran before the elections, in return for US assurances and support that the Iran issue will be taken even more seriously.

Netanyahu added he had "a pretty long talk" with U.S. President Barack Obama, followed by "a one-on-one meeting with [Secretary of State Hillary] Clinton. Our teams are talking on the highest levels. I think Israel and the U.S. can reach much more concrete understandings than what commentators may think."

On Friday, Obama and Netanyahu expressed solidarity on the goal of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, amid signs of easing tensions over their differences on how to confront Tehran.

Obama, who opted not to meet Netanyahu on his U.S. visit, spoke by phone to the Israeli leader, who used his UN speech on Thursday to keep up pressure on Washington to set a "red line" for Tehran. But in a softening of his approach, Netanyahu also signaled that no Israeli attack on Iran was imminent before the November 6 U.S. presidential election.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-israel-u-s-coordinated-on-highest-levels-on-iran-nuclear-program-1.467458

I'd gather that if Netanyahu appears to be a bit more re-assured and confident, the UN speech worked.