Trump, Bibi, Israel. Hold The Applause.................from Dan Friedman

From imra.org.il

1. Trump already folded to Abbas: During the Abbas White House visit President Trump publicly raised the issue of PA money to incarcerated terrorists and their families. Trump gave Abbas the photo op in Bethlehem even though Abbas added insult to injury by refusing to drop the funding and instead asking Trump to push Israel to accept the demand that the jailed terrorists get more TV channels.

2. Trump asks us to take risks. Israel ALREADY risks Israeli lives for the benefit of Palestinians: access to our hospitals (this when some patients try to smuggle in bombs), work permits, removal of most security roadblocks, etc..

3. The other conflicts in the region have absolutely nothing to do with the Arab-Israeli conflict, hence ending the Arab-Israeli conflict won't resolve them.

4. Deal with sovereign Palestinian state wouldn't lead to more peace and stability in the region but instead undermine stability.

5. Linking resolution of the other conflicts in the region to the Arab-Israeli conflict only serves to relieve pressure on the relevant decision makers to resolve these conflicts.

6. With pressure so great to make a "deal" and to make concession for the "deal" its incumbent on PM Netanyahu to put the critical card on the table: that a necessary NON-NEGOTIABLE condition for any deal is that it does not provide for a sovereign Palestinian state.

7. When put into even a mid-term perspective, more F-35's can't offset huge arms sales to the Arabs as there's a good chance that even in the mid-term our neighbors will be equipped with technologies that allow the tracking and interception of the "stealth" jets.

8. The best offset to huge US weapons sales is the development and deployment of made in Israel weapons that enjoy a technological edge over the American equipment.

9. In the business world when a fantastic "deal" goes bust the elements who financed it are screwed and the deal maker still pockets his commission. Come to think of it, Kissinger got his Nobel Prize for bringing peace to Viet Nam...

10. Netanyahu soon faces decisions on settlement construction that he delayed due the Trump visit. This will be a litmus test.

11. It would have taken one signature to make a tangible gesture of friendship and of a new page in Israel-US relations: sending Jonathan Pollard to Israel. The move would also save Uncle Sam the small fortune they are spending monitoring him 24/7 in New York.

###



Dan Friedman

NYC