Netanyahu Raises the Bar of Rhetoric.. Reality Imposes the Path

The article analyzes Netanyahu's statements about the second phase of the agreement, highlighting the gap between his tough rhetoric and his actual ability to implement it, amid internal, American, and international pressures. It notes that raising the bar of demands is part of a negotiating battle to improve terms, and that the condition of disarming the resistance is complex and requires understandings and guarantees. It concludes that stalling is possible, but blowing up the path is difficult.

The article discusses the recent statements of the occupation government's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, regarding the second phase of the agreement, and analyzes the gap between the hardline rhetoric and the political reality. Netanyahu rejects the proposed formula for moving to the second phase, conditioning the disarmament of the resistance before any step, including withdrawal, in a speech that aligns with the Israeli hardline mood and gives the government political space. However, the article argues that Israel does not operate in a political vacuum, but within international and American pressures, so raising the bar of demands does not mean the ability to impose them. It interprets the Israeli position as part of a negotiating battle to improve terms and extract guarantees, not a decision to blow up the path. It also links Netanyahu's statements to his internal calculations, as he needs to appear tough to avoid attacks from his camp. It points out that the disarmament condition is complex because it touches the core of the conflict and the balance of power, requiring understandings and implementation mechanisms. The article concludes that Netanyahu stands between internal pressure for toughness and American and international pressure to continue the path, and that stalling is possible but blowing up the agreement is difficult, emphasizing the distance between rhetoric and reality.