Netanyahu: ‘There Will Not Be a Palestinian State,’ Even At Cost of Ties With Saudis

 

Netanyahu Brushes Off Saudi F-35 Deal, Says US Will Ensure Israel’s Military Edge

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio guaranteed him that Israel’s “qualitative military edge” will remain intact in a phone call following US President Donald Trump’s announcement this week that he would sell F-35 warplanes to Saudi Arabia.

Israel is the only Middle East country operating the F-35, regarded as the most advanced warplane in the world. US law guarantees Israel a “qualitative military edge” in the region.

“Regarding the F-35, I had a long conversation with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who reiterated his commitment that the United States will continue to preserve Israel’s qualitative military edge in everything related to supplying weapons and military systems to countries in the Middle East,” Netanyahu said in a lengthy Hebrew-language interview with “Abu Ali Express,” a popular account on the Telegram messaging app.

Netanyahu said that Rubio assured him the US is “committed to maintaining Israel’s qualitative edge in all areas, including Israel’s advantage regarding the supply of F-35 aircraft,” noting that the advantage is legally guaranteed.

“Beyond that, I prefer not to elaborate,” he added. – The Times of Israel

AND

Netanyahu: ‘There Will Not Be a Palestinian State,’ Even At Cost of Ties With Saudis

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that there will not be a Palestinian state, even at the cost of normalization with Saudi Arabia, during an interview aired on Thursday evening.

“There will not be a Palestinian state. It’s very simple: it will not be established,” the premier said in the wide-ranging interview with Abu Ali Express, a popular local Telegram channel.

Asked by the interviewer if his opposition holds even if it jeopardizes normalization with Riyadh — which insists on a credible pathway to Palestinian statehood in exchange for such ties – Netanyahu said: “The answer is: a Palestinian state will not be established. It is an existential threat to Israel.”

Asked about what has prevented normalization with the Saudis, Netanyahu said the war in Gaza strained progress, but that “the conditions could develop” now that the war is winding down. – The Times of Israel

Our Take:

So while I didn’t quite stick the landing with the call on the Qualitative Military Edge (QME), I did anticipate that it was going to become a headline. I remain skeptical that this story is even true— that we are effectively sabotaging the F-35 planes going to Saudi so that Israel maintains a strategic advantage over them in a potential conflict. I will be very disappointed if this story is true.

But the fact that this is now a story and something that the Republicans have to explain— as they are in the midst of defending against claims that they are all puppets of Israel— is absolutely fantastic. Watching these scumbags squirm as they justify these ridiculous moves makes all the song and dance worthwhile.

As for the Saudi normalization, we addressed that, too, on Tuesday’s Badlands Daily.

Netanyahu and his cohorts have done everything they can to leverage the things that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman wants (F-35’s, a nuclear deal, a defense agreement) to force him to capitulate and normalize relations with Israel without the condition of Palestinian Statehood. And for years, every analyst in the world assumed that at some point, the Saudis would relent and sell out the Palestinians.

But this is a new age, and a new Saudi Arabia. The men running this country practice and observe First Principles, and were therefore steadfast enough in their negotiations that they were able to achieve all of their goals without compromising on their main condition. Netanyahu must now understand this, which is why he is putting out this bravado rhetoric.

Objective observers must see that the Arabs are not the problem in the Middle East. They are not the ones actively seeking conflict or the ones trying to subvert the peace process. In fact, it is the Arabs who have become the arbiters of peace for conflicts around the world.

Which leaves us with Israel. What are we going to do about this problem? This major liability? How can we enter the Golden Age when we have a country like Israel demanding more war and more conflict?

[Clip Link 1, Clip Link 2] – GhostofBasedPatrickHenry