U.S. official to Haaretz: Netanyahu focus on 1967 borders missing the point

[Poll_Blind]

A couple of you have been astute enough to point this out and I thank you for the insight. Now, the U.S. is making the same point, and it's a doozie:

From Haaretz: U.S. official to Haaretz: Netanyahu focus on 1967 borders missing the point:

In an exclusive interview with Haaretz, a senior U.S. official says Netanyahu's reaction to Obama's Mideast speech may lead to a situation in which 187 countries vote for the recognition of a Palestinian state at the General Assembly and two oppose.

There. That's it. In a single sentence, this US official lays out an inescapable decision which lies in front of Israel after celebrating it's 63 birthday: Make Peace now or Make Peace later. But like a bad tooth, if they don't adress the issue, it's not going to go away and all the stubbornness in the world isn't going to change the outcome.

The article continues...

"This time we might end up at the General Assembly with 187 countries voting for the recognition of the Palestinian state and two against it," he said, adding "it's bad for Israel and its bad for the United States. Netanyahu's reaction has aggravated the situation and frankly I don't know how he will get down from this tree."

The official clarified that Obama mentioned 1967 borders with territory swaps as a basis for negotiations - not as a final point.

"We don't see Hamas any differently than Israel does," the official said, adding that the U.S. recognizes that it is a terror organization and is wary of the recent Hamas-Fatah reconciliation.

He added, "we cannot exclude an option of negotiation with them", pending they accept the Quartet conditions.

That the US is having to reach out like this tells me that Netanyahu isn't playing political games so much as being a major dumbass who has now painted himself (and a few hardcore right-wing religious parties who make him look like a hippie) into a corner where they're finally going to have to do something, or the rest of the world will and they will have far fewer options favorable to them.

PB