Mr Netanyahu has adamantly refused to heed the reality that his -- and Israel's -- influence in the US depends on its bipartisan nature. By taking on the president, Mr Netanyahu risks smashing Washington's political consensus on Israel and exposing the American public for the first time to a debate about whether Israeli interests coincide with US ones.
The very rift he is fostering with Mr Obama is likely to rebound on him strategically. He is giving Tehran every incentive to sign an accord with the western powers, if only to deepen the fracture between Israel and Washington.
Meanwhile, the ICC has preferred to initiate an investigation against Israel for war crimes, even before the Palestinians' accession to the body. What the unravelling of the triangular relationship has achieved -- stoked by Mr Netanyahu's intransigence towards the Palestinians and insolence towards the US -- is the opening up of diplomatic wriggle room.
Others states, from Europe to Russia, China, Iran and international bodies such as the ICC, will fill the void left by Washington's diminishing credibility and start to shape perceptions about the Israel-Palestine conflict.
That could yet have unpredictable -- and dangerous -- consequences for Israel.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
2
1
1
