Contrary to the conclusions of the Israeli press, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman did not slap Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in the face in his UN speech. Lieberman contradicted his government's policy: this much is undeniable. He nearly read out the electoral programme of the Yisrael Beiteinu Party from the UN podium: there is no denying that. But when he ruled out any settlement with the Palestinians for decades to come, he wasn't hitting Netanyahu with his shoe, as the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot concluded, and nor was he trying to intimidate the prime minister, as Haaretz said. Instead, the two men are in cahoots. What Lieberman did was to get people off Netanyahu's back. Poor Netanyahu: now he can point at his foreign minister and say, "look, here are the guys I have in my coalition. What do you expect me to do?" In other words, Lieberman's speech was exactly what Netanyahu needed in order to excuse his inaction on settlement building. Netanyahu is buying time by pretending to be weak, even though in fact he isn't. True, Lieberman leads the second-largest party in the governing coalition. But Netanyahu is the strongest prime minister Israel has had for three decades. The coalition he leads is powerful, and the opposition he faces is divided. Nothing would be easier for him than to get Tzipi Livni's Kadima Party into government, if he were serious about pressing ahead with the peace efforts. One of the conditions Livni has made for joining the government is that Netanyahu press ahead with the two-state solution. Everyone wants Livni in the government. The Labour Party does, and Israeli President Shimon Peres does. The US and Europe and a large section of the Israeli public also do. So why is Lieberman still foreign minister? The answer is clear: because Netanyahu wants him to be. On 24 August, a Hebrew-language website gave details of a secret deal between Netanyahu and Lieberman, under which Yisrael Beiteinu would quit the government if Netanyahu froze the settlements. At this point, so the scenario ran, the Americans would panic and try to find a way out for Netanyahu. However, apparently the Americans got early wind of this deal, with the result that it has been put on hold. Instead, Netanyahu sent his foreign minister to the UN to run amok. If the foreign minister goes too far, the prime minister will have a breathing space, act beleaguered, and use Lieberman as his alibi -- all another way of saying that Netanyahu was never serious about peace. If Netanyahu were a man of peace, he would have been embarrassed by Lieberman's remarks. But he wasn't. Indeed, the reaction of Netanyahu's office to the remarks has been so lame that one can only conclude that the substance of the speech was coordinated with the prime minister in advance. It would not be the first time that Netanyahu has played such games. Some may recall the scandal surrounding Netanyahu's appointment of Roni Bar-On as Israeli attorney-general a few years ago, disclosed by journalist Ayala Hasson of the country's television channel 2. According to this journalist, Netanyahu allowed the Shas Party's Aryeh Deri to walk free from prison in return for the latter party's support for the appointment of Bar-On. Knowing Netanyahu's history, it would be naive to absolve him from responsibility for Lieberman's hardline views. What US Middle East envoy George Mitchell has offered Netanyahu is a promise to guarantee Israel's security and to prevent the Arabs from taking up the matter with the UN Security Council. The US has also promised to keep the Palestinians at the negotiating table for a further two months, the period of the extension of the moratorium on settlements that Washington wants Netanyahu to approve. One wonders: if extending a moratorium on settlement building for two months is such a deal-breaker, what will Israel do when the time comes to dismantle entire settlements? It should be kept in mind that the US has definite leverage over any government in Israel. If the last two months are anything to go by, the Israeli public may be willing to bring down any prime minister who incurs US wrath. Therefore, the Palestinians must stand firm on the matter of settlements. And Arab officials, who are slated to meet once the moratorium on settlements expires, should keep in mind the immense power the US has over Israel. Netanyahu is playing games to force others into making concessions. We mustn't be fooled by his antics. And we mustn't for a moment doubt his responsibility for Lieberman's remarks.
