SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Netanyahu: US Easily Manipulated
A recently-revealed tape has shown Binyamin
Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, discussing ways to undermine the
Oslo Accords and calling the United States "easy" to manipulate.
The video was filmed in 2001, apparently without Netanyahu's
knowledge, during a meeting with Israeli settlers in the occupied West
Bank. It aired on Friday night on Israel's Channel 10, and several
translations have been posted online.
Jul 18, 2010
A recently-revealed tape has shown Binyamin
Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, discussing ways to undermine the
Oslo Accords and calling the United States "easy" to manipulate.
The video was filmed in 2001, apparently without Netanyahu's
knowledge, during a meeting with Israeli settlers in the occupied West
Bank. It aired on Friday night on Israel's Channel 10, and several
translations have been posted online.
At one point on the tape, Netanyahu threatens a
"broad attack" against the Palestinian Authority.
"The main thing, first of all, is to hit them. Not just one blow, but
blows that are so painful that the price will be too heavy to be
borne," Netanyahu said. "A broad attack on the Palestinian Authority."
The tape was shot during the early stages of the
second intifada, when violence between Israelis and Palestinians was
escalating. Netanyahu was speaking with settlers who lost family members
to Palestinian attacks.
Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister at the time, had recently
deployed additional Israeli troops in the West Bank.
Undermining the Oslo Accords
Netanyahu - who did not hold political office when the recording was
made - was dismissive of the United States, calling it easily
manipulated.
"I know what America is," Netanyahu said. "America is a thing you can
move very easily, move it in the right direction. They won't get in the
way."
Netanyahu also spoke extensively about undermining the Oslo Accords,
the agreement signed in 1993 which set a framework for future
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
The Oslo Accords specified that Israel would be allowed to keep
"military zones" in the West Bank in any future agreement with the
Palestinian Authority. Netanyahu told the settlers he would use that
loophole to retain large portions of Palestinian territory.
"I'm going to interpret the accords in such a way that would allow me
to put an end to this galloping forward to the '67 borders," he said.
"How do we do it? Nobody said what defined military zones were.
Defined military zones are security zones; as far as I'm concerned, the
entire Jordan Valley is a defined military zone."
In the recording, Netanyahu described Bill Clinton - the former US
president who helped to negotiate the accords - as "radically
pro-Palestinian".
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A recently-revealed tape has shown Binyamin
Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, discussing ways to undermine the
Oslo Accords and calling the United States "easy" to manipulate.
The video was filmed in 2001, apparently without Netanyahu's
knowledge, during a meeting with Israeli settlers in the occupied West
Bank. It aired on Friday night on Israel's Channel 10, and several
translations have been posted online.
At one point on the tape, Netanyahu threatens a
"broad attack" against the Palestinian Authority.
"The main thing, first of all, is to hit them. Not just one blow, but
blows that are so painful that the price will be too heavy to be
borne," Netanyahu said. "A broad attack on the Palestinian Authority."
The tape was shot during the early stages of the
second intifada, when violence between Israelis and Palestinians was
escalating. Netanyahu was speaking with settlers who lost family members
to Palestinian attacks.
Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister at the time, had recently
deployed additional Israeli troops in the West Bank.
Undermining the Oslo Accords
Netanyahu - who did not hold political office when the recording was
made - was dismissive of the United States, calling it easily
manipulated.
"I know what America is," Netanyahu said. "America is a thing you can
move very easily, move it in the right direction. They won't get in the
way."
Netanyahu also spoke extensively about undermining the Oslo Accords,
the agreement signed in 1993 which set a framework for future
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
The Oslo Accords specified that Israel would be allowed to keep
"military zones" in the West Bank in any future agreement with the
Palestinian Authority. Netanyahu told the settlers he would use that
loophole to retain large portions of Palestinian territory.
"I'm going to interpret the accords in such a way that would allow me
to put an end to this galloping forward to the '67 borders," he said.
"How do we do it? Nobody said what defined military zones were.
Defined military zones are security zones; as far as I'm concerned, the
entire Jordan Valley is a defined military zone."
In the recording, Netanyahu described Bill Clinton - the former US
president who helped to negotiate the accords - as "radically
pro-Palestinian".
A recently-revealed tape has shown Binyamin
Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, discussing ways to undermine the
Oslo Accords and calling the United States "easy" to manipulate.
The video was filmed in 2001, apparently without Netanyahu's
knowledge, during a meeting with Israeli settlers in the occupied West
Bank. It aired on Friday night on Israel's Channel 10, and several
translations have been posted online.
At one point on the tape, Netanyahu threatens a
"broad attack" against the Palestinian Authority.
"The main thing, first of all, is to hit them. Not just one blow, but
blows that are so painful that the price will be too heavy to be
borne," Netanyahu said. "A broad attack on the Palestinian Authority."
The tape was shot during the early stages of the
second intifada, when violence between Israelis and Palestinians was
escalating. Netanyahu was speaking with settlers who lost family members
to Palestinian attacks.
Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister at the time, had recently
deployed additional Israeli troops in the West Bank.
Undermining the Oslo Accords
Netanyahu - who did not hold political office when the recording was
made - was dismissive of the United States, calling it easily
manipulated.
"I know what America is," Netanyahu said. "America is a thing you can
move very easily, move it in the right direction. They won't get in the
way."
Netanyahu also spoke extensively about undermining the Oslo Accords,
the agreement signed in 1993 which set a framework for future
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
The Oslo Accords specified that Israel would be allowed to keep
"military zones" in the West Bank in any future agreement with the
Palestinian Authority. Netanyahu told the settlers he would use that
loophole to retain large portions of Palestinian territory.
"I'm going to interpret the accords in such a way that would allow me
to put an end to this galloping forward to the '67 borders," he said.
"How do we do it? Nobody said what defined military zones were.
Defined military zones are security zones; as far as I'm concerned, the
entire Jordan Valley is a defined military zone."
In the recording, Netanyahu described Bill Clinton - the former US
president who helped to negotiate the accords - as "radically
pro-Palestinian".
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.