A new Middle East? From the series of congratulations sent by the ministers of Religious Zionism immediately after Netanyahu's speech today (Friday) at the UN General Assembly, one could mistakenly think that the prime minister is announcing in New York the immediate annexation of all of Judea and Samaria.
Religious Zionism Chairman Bezalel Smotrich and Ministers Orit Struk and Ofir Sofer were the first to issue announcements and congratulations on a speech in which Netanyahu laid out his vision for peace in the Middle East, which does not ignore the Palestinians but includes them within it. While he demanded that their veto power be reduced regarding progress toward peace with the countries of the world, he demanded that the Palestinian Authority stop inciting against Israel, but in the end he committed in one breath to a peace process with the Palestinians as well.
Netanyahu on the Palestinians: "They can be a part, but we must not give them a veto" // Reuters
Netanyahu claimed that the mistakes made over a quarter of a century vis-à-vis the Palestinians would not be made during his tenure, and reiterated a commitment to peace with the countries of the region that would eventually lead the Palestinians in. For a moment, his speech sounded as if it were taken from the speeches of former President Shimon Peres, including the phrase: "a new Middle East" with the addition of "and this time for real" – even with more realistic touches than those that have positioned the Palestinian Authority as capable of leading such a process over the past decades.
Smotrich and Strok in their announcements provided Netanyahu with a reminder of the coalition that awaits him at home, and for good reason. The hints were thick enough as to the borders in which Netanyahu could maneuver vis-à-vis the Palestinians, and included the following promise: "Together we will bring peace for peace, we will continue to maintain Israel's security, settle in all its areas, and develop it and the Middle East and the entire world." There will be no demands for territorial concessions when we are in the leadership, the two ministers of Religious Zionism actually reminded Netanyahu, if he managed to forget from a distance.
Netanyahu's vision of peace at the UN substantially replaced his recent speeches at the General Assembly, whose focus until now has been on a nuclear Iran and its threat to Israel. This is a 180-degree shift from survival to the promise of prosperity, with the next destination, of course, being Saudi Arabia and through it the economic corridor from India through Iraq and Jordan to Israel and from there to the Mediterranean.
Netanyahu mentioned Trump in his speech, but looked up to current President Biden and pinned his hopes on realization: "The United States is irreplaceable in this process," he said.
Netanyahu's speech at the UN, photo: AP
And finally, there was Iran. Netanyahu mentioned that he was using the same red marker that had marked in a previous speech the red line Iran might cross toward a nuclear bomb (which it crossed long ago) to signal his vision of regional peace. But he also hinted at the Americans who are not applying the sanctions regime to Iran, which is rapidly advancing toward enrichment that would endanger Israel, and demanded that it pose a credible military threat in order to halt its dangerous advance. Netanyahu reiterated his previous commitments, saying, "I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons."
In the meantime, in the absence of American commitment to this war against Iran, he is embracing with both hands the path of the regional coalition against the regime of the ayatollahs.
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