Summit's results leave rightist politicians unfazed about future

The rather predictable results of yesterday's Israeli-Palestinian-American summit in New York failed to provoke any serious protests from the right, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered for his Likud party's ideological wing and his rightist coalition partners: He did not yield to pressure to commit to stopping settlement construction. He therefore seems set to come home to a stable coalition.

The summit "proves construction in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] will continue alongside the diplomatic talks," said MK Ofir Akunis (Likud). "It's now clear that the international community has far more esteem for a strong government that insists on Israeli interests."

MK Danny Danon, who is considered the Likud's right flank, was just as confident. "The meeting proved again that we're not in a Hollywood movie," he said. "[U.S. President Barack] Obama must realize that charisma alone does not suffice to bring peace. Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] is not a serious partner who can bring peace to the Israeli people. I hope the summit stops the Hollywood movie in which Obama lives."

Shas also gave Netanyahu full backing. "The Palestinians' behavior over this meeting is typical of their general behavior, whose sole aim is to entrench themselves in harmful positions in order to improve, through conflict, agreements that they themselves have trampled on," said Interior Minister and Shas chairman Eli Yishai. "Their leadership could not bring a pan-Palestinian decision about incitement in schools and schoolbooks to the meeting. So is there any doubt about their real intentions? The prime minister's steadfast perseverance removed another layer from the Palestinian mask."

Several members of Netanyahu's cabinet visited the settlers' Jerusalem protest tent against a settlement freeze shortly before the summit began. Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom told the protesters the Palestinians must "realize that peace comes with Israel, not instead of Israel."

On the other side of the parliamentary map, Labor Party rebel MK Ophir Pines-Paz chastised party chairman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak for attending the summit, which he termed a farce.

"They've been working all these months and wearing us down for this?" he demanded. "It was a farce, a shameful display of stagnation, of people who, instead of seizing a historic opportunity, are dragging their feet. History will not forgive them."