Netanyahu's 'useless' feud with Obama

Israel's prime minister has had a public falling out with Obama over the president's proposal for restarting Mideast peace talks. Is Bibi just hurting himself?

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, just days after butting heads with President Obama about Mideast peace.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Jason Reed)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress on Tuesday, just four days after rejecting President Obama's vision for renewing Middle East peace negotiations. The flash point was Obama's suggestion that negotiations on the borders of a future Palestinian state should use the boundaries that were in place before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war as a starting point, with other land swaps determining the final lines. Obama said that wasn't even a departure from previous U.S. policy. Netanyahu said it was unacceptable and unrealistic. Was this worth fighting about?

Netanyahu is making a huge mistake: The really important things in Obama's big speech on the Middle East last week were actually good for Israel, says Eliot Spitzer at Slate. He made it clear the U.S. doesn't expect Israel to negotiate with a Palestinian group that includes Hamas, unless the Islamist faction accepts Israel's right to exist. Obama also rejected the Palestinians' effort to isolate Israel by winning official recognition from the United Nations. Netanyahu should be thanking Obama, not picking a "useless, counterproductive fight."

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