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Post-election, Netanyahu was in battle mode. He told cabinet members not to talk about Obama. Close associates rebuffed allegations that he tried to undermine the US president.
They and Netanyahu strained to explain why Romney was warmly welcomed on his summer Israeli visit. Their explanation fell flat.
For months, Netanyahu criticized Obama on Iran. He went out of his way to tell American Jews that a second Obama term for would be bad for Israel. They didn't believe it. Don't expect Obama to forget it.
"Netanyahu will remember the night between November 6 and 7, 2012 as" nightmarish. His former chief of staff, Naftali Bennett, was elected Habayit Hayehudi (HH) chairman.
In November 2008, he formed the right-wing religious party. Netanyahu hoped opposition HH candidate Zevulun Orlev would win.
Netanyahu associate Natan Eshel intervened in party politics to help him. He failed. If Netanyahu wins in January, he'll need Bennett's help to form a coalition government.
They'll both work together but not comfortably. When Netanyahu led Israel's opposition, he dumped Bennett for political disagreements. What happened before can happen again.
Haaretz contributor Aluf Benn believes Bibi can relax. Obama won't punish him. Strategic US/Israeli ties matter more than personal feelings. Washington's foreign policy won't change. Nor will Israel's.
Both sides will work with each other like always. Nuance differences only reflect relations between both countries depending on who rules either at any point in time.
Obama and Netanyahu have similar agendas. They'll cooperate on regional issues. Expect nothing positive to emerge for Palestinians, relations with Iran, or Syrians enduring months of protracted conflict.
Both leaders deplore peace. Settlement expansion continues unabated. Over half a million West Bank and East Jerusalem settlers exclude a two-state solution. Whatever might have been possible earlier isn't now.
Adherents ignore reality by supporting it. So does Abbas knowing it's impossible. He, like others, know the only solution is one state comprised of Israel and the Territories. Nothing else will work.
PA leaders call current conditions unsustainable. They're right. They identified the problem, not the solution. "The international community and Palestinians together need to exercise all possible efforts to preserve the viability of the two-state solution - or consider the alternatives," they say.
How? They're right saying "the only viable solution".is bringing an end to Israel's (45 year) occupation." They stop short of explaining how.
Netanyahu and Obama also pretend what neither leader supports or knows is viable as the only way forward. So do analysts who know better.
Gideon Levy thinks Obama and Netanyahu may prove a "winning duo, the ones who bring about an agreement with the Palestinians." He doesn't understand that both leaders demand Palestinian surrender, not justice.
