article_snippet: Disregarding Israel's already strained bilateral relations with the United States, Netanyahu readily risked the consequences of humiliating the Obama administration in exchange for less than an hour of political self-manifestation -- typical for a man who is domestically known to be not much of a statesman.
article_snippet: Netanyahu is a charismatic speaker and a passionate Israel-advocate, however, Netanyahu personal and political interests have always taken precedence over serving Israel's national interests.
article_snippet: Netanyahu joins a long list of Israeli politicians overwhelmed by the plurality and polarization of domestic public opinion.
article_snippet: So far Netanyahu has been just another Israeli leader seeking "easy" short-term answers to fundamentally strategic problems, thereby further protracting an already protracted conflict.
article_snippet: As a puppet of ideological, conservative playmakers who whole-heartedly reject a two-state solution, Netanyahu has been held hostage by the likes of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett who pursue a discriminatory policy of sectarian segregation intending to contain Palestinian public dissidence through mere coercion.
article_snippet: Consequently, Netanyahu's foreign policy vis-à-vis the peace process has been a disaster.
article_snippet: In reality, however, Netanyahu is neither.
article_snippet: Netanyahu has given in to a toxic form of Jewish nationalism, disregarded Israel's relatively good regional position vis-à-vis Israel otherwise-occupied Arab neighbors; Ehud Olmert has continued to build settlements out of spite, thought of ever new preconditions for bilateral negotiations with the Palestinians and waged a ruthless war against Gaza without a clear strategic endgame -- a war that was lost militarily and in terms of international reputation.
article_snippet: Apart from the tragic effects of Netanyahu's policy on the peace process, Netanyahu stubbornness has alienated allies in Europe and Washington.
article_snippet: Yet, Netanyahu chose to ignore external initiatives, retracting to a Jewish nationalist rhetoric founded on security paranoia, self-victimization and the illusion of Israeli autarky in security and defense.
article_snippet: At first sight, then, the prospect of four more years of Netanyahu, does not sound too promising -- at least in regards to the peace process.
article_snippet: Netanyahu implicit rejection of the two-state solution; Netanyahu prioritization of short-term security over sustainable security solutions; Netanyahu pursuit of a toxic Jewish nationalist agenda justifying an intensification of sectarianism between Israel and the Occupied Territories as well as within Israel, are all factors that will leave Israel increasingly isolated.
article_snippet: Netanyahu Israel-first narrative might win Netanyahu votes within a highly polarized electorate that in recent years has become more and more right-wing amid a top-down constructed climate of fear.
article_snippet: Hamas' and Hezbollah's mid-tech missile capability, Syria's socio-political disintegration and subsequent rise of Islamist non-state actors, have been used by the Netanyahu government to create an Arab bogyman ostensibly threatening the Jewish state's very existence -- a new bogyman coexisting side-by-side with Netanyahu's "favorite" bogeyman, Iran.
article_snippet: Despite Netanyahu's pre-occupation with security, the derailment of the peace process has not been much of a topic during the campaign so far.
article_snippet: Netanyahu has become somewhat of a villain in the West -- an untrustworthy, short-sighted politician who in comparison to Netanyahu counterparts in Ramallah appears to lack the willingness to compromise, cooperate and empathize.
highlights_snippet: Netanyahu's foreign policy vis-à-vis the peace process has been disaster .
  