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Netanyahu's European 'grand tour' offers respite from settlement woes
By Barak Ravid
Tags: berlusconi, netanyahu 

PARIS - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who met this week in Italy, have both come in for media criticism recently. In Berlusconi's case it was over his personal conduct at parties with young women. For Netanyahu's case, it was over Israel's settlement policy.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Netayahu, who also met this week, also have a few things in common. They share a rightward-leaning political spectrum, both were finance ministers, and both tried to "break" a rival party. At their meeting at the Elysee Palace, Sarkozy told of the "defection" of seven members of the French socialist party and their inclusion in the cabinet. The most senior of these, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who was present at the meeting, smiled in embarrassment. Sarkozy has bolstered his command of the French cabinet, but Netanyahu is still trying to pave the way for MK Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) to rejoin Likud.

One of the surprise guests at Sarkozy's meeting with Netanyahu was MK Daniel Ben Simon (Labor). The fact of his co-optation was proven later, at a press briefing, when the Labor whip found it difficult to curb his enthusiasm over the strong friendship between Sarkozy and Netanyahu.
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A key figure in all of Netanyahu's trips to Paris in recent years has been Meir Haviv, whose official title is vice president of the CRIF, the umbrella organization of the French Jewish community. He is Netanyahu's unofficial representative in France. When Netanyahu traveled to France as head of the opposition it was Haviv who arranged everything, from lugging suitcases to scheduling meetings with Sarkozy.

On election day in Israel Haviv was at Netanyahu's side, and during the coalition talks it was Haviv who stitched together the compromise that resulted in Silvan Shalom being appointed vice premier and minister of regional development. And when Netanyahu arrived in Paris, Haviv was at his side. Foreign Ministry officials in Jerusalem joked that it would save money to have Haviv appointed ambassador from both countries.

The physical toll of his first months as prime minister were clearly noticeable in the course of Netanyahu's European tour. At the news conference with Berlusconi both mean appeared tired, each for his own reasons. A few hours before taking off for Rome on Monday Netanyahu was still dealing with efforts to defuse the tussle between Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer over who is responsible for supervising the wages of senior officials at the central bank. Time management is a critical issue for Netanyahu.

Netanyahu went to Europe with two goals in mind: To put his failed trip to Washington behind him through warm hugs from two of his closest friends in Europe, and to market the message of his Bar-Ilan speech to the European political leadership and to European public opinion.

Relatively speaking, he was successful. Berlusconi and Sarkozy accepted the principle of a Jewish state and did not fall off their chairs over the demand that a future Palestinian state be demilitarized. The French call Netanyahu "the American Bibi" and they were actually surprised that he would end up at loggerheads with President Barack Obama.

Netanyahu is frustrated by the crisis with the United States over the settlements. He must have been encouraged, however, by a new article by former U.S. deputy national security advisor Elliott Abrams under George W. Bush in which Abrams again wrote of understandings that Sharon and Olmert came to with Bush on construction within the existing West Bank settlement blocs. Netanyahu still hopes that the Americans will reembrace these understandings, but knows the chances for that are small. Possible solutions are being suggested to him daily, from a temporary freeze to permitting high-rise construction. At the moment, however, no solution appears on the horizon.
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