Yesterday Iran responded to Israel for the killing of the top commander. At first, I thought it was a statement purely for domestic audiences. However, now I think it was also a mockery to Netanyahu who so baldly (and so openly) tries to encourage his opponents to kill Israelis. Hence, his presence in Israel’s politics still makes sense.
So Iran issued the exact statement he so badly wanted to hear but then the next day some Hamas officials said the exact opposite and surprisingly some of them said they might be willing to pursue more moderate and more effective approaches. This is a nightmare for Israeli hardliners. I don’t expect everyone on the Palestinian side to agree with the plan immediately. But once they are presented with the entire plan I think more and more headliners on that side will put down guns and start to build the economy.
This plan also satisfies people on the Israeli side. There will be a secure Jewish state in a two-state solution that is not an apartheid. Israelis can buy homes anywhere in the land they want and live there. So it’s hardly any reasonable excuse to oppose it. So the Environment for hardliners is bad. I predict more and more Republicans will support this plan when the plan is clearer.
On the other hand, any attempt from the Netanyahu camp to encourage opposing groups to kill Israelis should be done with caution. They can’t send such clear signals to opposing groups to promote insecurity and violence.