היזהרו, טראמפ רציני
https://www.inn.co.il/Articles/Article.aspx/18091
Trump is Serious, be careful!
Atty Elyakim HaEtzni, former MK
Translated from the Hebrew by Sally Zahav for the Sovereignty Movement
To the last of the writers and politicians, to the last of the comedians, they all permit themselves to denigrate President Trump. Their hatred and ideological bent prevent them from seeing the "method of his madness" (Shakespeare, Hamlet). The latest example – the signing of a new trade deal with Mexico where the U.S. stops being a "patsy". Just as Trump promised he would do. And his declared plan to stop the catastrophic nuclear agreement with Iran, he implements one step after another. And what did Shakespeare say? Methodically! And if the execution requires open animosity with the liberal-leftist European Union, which has become used to leading the Americans by the nose toward objectives that contradict American interests, Trump is not deterred by this either. He simultaneously manages a trade war with China, and doesn't allow China a free hand to engage in acts at the expense of America, exactly as he said he would do. And he is especially trying to end the "cold war" with Putin's Russia without getting into a real conflict, in Ukraine as well and also in Syria. This was his approach from day one, and he has stuck to it. His detractors have even adopted some of his tricks. How they ridiculed his tweets – These days, which politician does not tweet? And from the day that he threw out the expression "fake news", who has not used it?
Underneath the boisterous mask, which sometimes is even vulgar, the man is actually serious and works diligently on his plans. Ironically, this is what worries me. I am afraid that since he publicly announced that he would exact from us a painful price in favor of the Palestinians for every punishment that he gives them now (and he does punish them) – we will discover that our joy was premature.
What is Trump planning for us? We may draw the outline according to his guidelines, to understand the real situation, meaning – as a merchant would see it, rather than as religious or nationalist fanatics would see it. According to this view, Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is a reality and all the rest – romantic issues that do not apply to him. But even about Jerusalem, Trump and his people continue to emphasize that they have not recognized any specific borders of Jerusalem, meaning which sections will not be part of the capital of Israel. They are leaving this for "negotiations between the two sides", meaning, also to good old Uncle Sam's lobbying and pressure. Do you want proof?
Would Netanyahu freeze Jerusalem if Trump demanded for him to do so, in order to keep open the option of a Palestinian state?
The same goes for the question of the "refugees" and UNRWA. The demand for the "right of return" has no basis in reality, but since it is considered sacrosanct by the Arabs, it ruins every realistic option. This is why Trump swept the unrealistic data regarding the number of "refugees" off the table, together with UNRWA, which is perpetuating the conflict. Now that the table is clear of "dreams", Trump will come to a conclusion, and Nikki Haley, a true friend, has already warned us that we will not be eating honey either.
In one of his early speeches, Trump said that he personally has no opinion on the vision of two states – he leaves that to the two sides. But meanwhile, the specter of two states has returned in a different fashion – once as a joke, that one ay the name of the prime minister of Israel might be Mohammed, other times as leaks from the "Steering Committee" (Kushner, Greenblatt and Friedman), and lately, Abu-Mazen said in a meeting with "Peace Now" - "I met met Trump four times. He said that he was for the two-state vision..." We must not conclude that he was lying, nor was there any denial from the White House.
The plan for two states is consistent only with the idea of building on real data. According to the data that was leaked, the Steering Committee found that the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria is situated on about 5% of the area and all the rest – is Palestinian presence. According to those leaks, Netanyahu is demanding 10 percent for the deployment of Jewish settlement, and we have not heard any other objection from him to the idea of tearing the heart of our homeland and lending his own hand to its physical and legal transfer to foreign possession. Anyway, it is not likely that Trump did not tell Netanyahu even once what he said to Abu Mazen four times. And when he did say it, how did Netanyahu respond? What could he have told him, since he himself has not publicly changed his position since the Bar Ilan speech – to this very day!
And even worse: the dictate of March 2017 regarding the "restraining" of settlement construction adopted by the cabinet not only drastically reduced construction in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem, it also outlined the situation upon which Trump plans to build a Palestinian state: Netanyahu is strictly preventing existing communities to expand and the establishment/normalization of new outposts, and at the same time does not lift a finger to stop the broad-based Arab development and construction work in Area C, the goal of which is to block Jewish settlement within the fences of those areas.
Netanyahu's acquiescence (or perhaps this is consistent with his own plans?) will be a cause for grief over generations, since the damage is not only material, it becomes normative: if the most sympathetic America administration toward Israel that has ever existed is willing to shackle Jewish settlement, what can we expect from the Democrats?
In the past, the Likud accused Peres that he would divide Jerusalem. Today, the head of Likud by his deeds, and the rest of the leadership by their silence – are dividing the Land and Jerusalem as well!
Today, Limor Livnat confesses that she supported the "disengagement", an outrage for which we pay dearly every day. Tomorrow, G-d forbid, people like Elkin, Levin, Kish, Ohana, Hotobeli and many other good people will have bitter regrets for these days when they did nothing, despite that the little that is required from them at this time is a simple declaration to the president of the U.S. that the 2-state "solution" is unacceptable to them, and he did promise that ultimately only the two sides would decide; and an appeal to our friends in Congress and not least in importance – opening the eyes of the millions of evangelists, true friends who are the basis of Trump's strength. They are not aware of all of this. And if, one day, Trump throws Israel under the bus, they will rightly ask: why didn't you tell us?
Elyakim Haetzni
