Opinion: Instead of befriending neo-fascists, Israel should make peace

Haaretz- Anyone who has visited the West Bank in recent months has been greeted by the din of mountain-moving bulldozers and jackhammers, alongside giant foundation drills sending up clouds of dust that can be seen for miles. Cement mixers are working around the clock, and everything is being done in a grab-what-you-can atmosphere.

...Construction in the settlements on such a scale has not been seen since the premiership of Ehud Barak - who recently scolded the Palestinians for their unwillingness to resume negotiations, arguing that during his term as prime minister the talks continued even though the scope of construction was four times larger than today. Despite his exaggeration, what is interesting is precisely what Barak forgot to mention: the way his negotiations with the Palestinians ended.

And perhaps that is precisely the reason the Palestinians refuse to resume negotiations. They've already seen this movie - which began with 110,000 settlers in 1993 and has now reached 330,000, with more on the way.

It's no wonder the Palestinians prefer to move the forum of their struggle with Israel to the United Nations. There, like the Jews in 1947, they are perceived as the weaker party, whose demand for recognition of a state along the 1967 borders is naturally and justifiably supported by most countries in the international community.

The story, as one of my friends recently concluded, is no longer about right versus left in Israel, because there is no longer a left in Israel. It is a campaign waged by the right-wing settler movement, assisted by the Netanyahu government, which is playing for time, against the entire world - except for our new friends in the European neo-fascist groups and the American evangelical right. With friends like these, Israel should seriously consider reaching peace with the Arab world, and quickly. Read more