The Wall Street Journal slams the Palestinians for dismissing Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech on Sunday out of hand, and calls on the Obama administration to provide Israel with greater assurances that America won’t demand more concessions from Israel while doing nothing to stop Iran’s march toward a nuclear bomb.
Responding to Mr. Netanyahu’s speech, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs called it an "important step forward," but offered little more than that. The Administration could help matters more by providing the Israelis with greater assurances that they won’t simultaneously demand further Israeli concessions while doing nothing serious to stop Iran — a leading patron of Hamas — from getting nuclear weapons. A Palestinian state poses enough challenges to Israeli security without it being an atomic spearpoint.
As for the Palestinians, for too long they have practiced a kind of fantasy politics, in which all right was on their side, concession was dishonor, and mistakes never had consequences. It hasn’t earned them much. Mr. Netanyahu’s speech now offers them the choice between fantasy and statehood. Judging from early reactions, they’re choosing wrongly again.
Full column here.
