Jeffrey Goldberg, "Israel's Dangerous Predicament": Obama the Punisher

In an Atlantic article entitled "Israel's Dangerous Predicament," Jeffrey Goldberg describes Obama's threats to abandon Israel to its fate at the UN after Netanyahu had the gall to emerge victorious in Israel's parliamentary elections on Tuesday. Goldberg writes:

"It is up to Netanyahu, in the coming weeks, to show he is actually committed to preserving the possibility of a two-state solution. I would like it, of course, if the White House would cease to dump on Israel for a day or two—it would be nice if it would exhibit the same restraint it shows when talking about the actions of the Iranian regime, for instance—but, nevertheless, this is a problem largely created by Netanyahu's deep cynicism, and cast-iron obstinacy.

If the Security Council recognizes Palestine as an independent state, Netanyahu will have no time at all to get his house in order before Israel becomes a true pariah. I've been arguing for years that Netanyahu has had two choices: Arrange for the birth of a Palestinian state in an orderly, secure way, over a period of several years, or do nothing over a period of several years, and then face a sudden crisis in which Israel loses its ability to manage the situation."

Fascinating. But if the Security Council recognizes Palestine as an independent state, who is in charge? Fatah, which governs the West Bank, and which is headed by Mahmoud Abbas, now in the eleventh year of his four-year term as President of the Palestinian Authority? In 2008, Abbas rejected Israeli Prime Minister Olmert's peace offer, providing the Palestinians with an independent state along the 1967 lines together with agreed upon land swaps and Palestinian control of east Jerusalem. One year later, after Netanyahu declared a 10-month settlement freeze "to restart peace talks" at the request of Obama, Abbas delayed entering negotiations until the last moment and then walked away from the discussions. No need, of course, for Obama to force Abbas back to the negotiating table. It's all Netanyahu's fault.

Or maybe Hamas, which governs Gaza, will be in charge of the new state. The charter of Hamas, which has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US, calls for the murder of all Jews, not just Israelis. They will be given sway over the nascent state of Palestine? Good luck!

And just maybe if the State of Palestine is recognized by the UN Security Council, we will see another Fatah-Hamas civil war, which, the last time around, lasted from January 2006 to May 2007 and cost the lives of 600 Palestinians. After all, why should Palestine be spared the chaos of Syria and Iraq?

Go for it, Obama! Abandon Israel at the UN! Maybe you can't stand up to Putin or Khamenei, but here's your chance to go toe to toe with an ally and prove you're a man!