Post by Daniel on May 12, 2018 10:00:06 GMT -5
Winning big with both Trump and Putin, Netanyahu had a royal flush of a week
By Cnaan Liphshiz 11 May 2018
JTA — On Sunday, Benjamin Netanyahu began his week by meeting his Cypriot and Greek counterparts to finalize the commercial export to Europe of Israeli gas that he has pushed to exploit for about a decade.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from nuclear deal with Iran was widely seen as a coup for Israel’s prime minister, a fierce opponent of the deal.
On Wednesday, he was the only Western leader at the annual May 9 military parade in Moscow as a personal guest of President Vladimir Putin — a patron of Syria and of Iran with whom Netanyahu has nonetheless cultivated a beneficial partnership.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from nuclear deal with Iran was widely seen as a coup for Israel’s prime minister, a fierce opponent of the deal.
On Wednesday, he was the only Western leader at the annual May 9 military parade in Moscow as a personal guest of President Vladimir Putin — a patron of Syria and of Iran with whom Netanyahu has nonetheless cultivated a beneficial partnership.
And on Thursday, Netanyahu ordered — with backing from the European Union and Russia’s silent approval — a punishing strike on Iranian bases in Syria. It was a retaliation for the firing into Israel of a barrage of rockets that did not hit thanks to Israel’s advanced projectile interception systems — and even Iran’s allies failed to come to its defense.
All in all, a pretty good buildup for Netanyahu’s grand prize: The inauguration of the US Embassy in Jerusalem, which Netanyahu has celebrated as a historical moment since Trump announced it in December.
This streak of successes for Netanyahu has wowed his critics and supporters alike, who see it as a huge return on several of his most controversial long-term strategies.
“In poker terms, Netanyahu landed a royal flush,” Yossi Verter, a frequent critic of Netanyahu, wrote in a column Friday in the Haaretz daily — perhaps Israel’s most consistently anti-Netanyahu publication. “What a respectable yield in just seven days. He aced it, and he aced it, and he aced it — more so than anyone ever imagined.”
This streak of successes for Netanyahu has wowed his critics and supporters alike, who see it as a huge return on several of his most controversial long-term strategies.
“In poker terms, Netanyahu landed a royal flush,” Yossi Verter, a frequent critic of Netanyahu, wrote in a column Friday in the Haaretz daily — perhaps Israel’s most consistently anti-Netanyahu publication. “What a respectable yield in just seven days. He aced it, and he aced it, and he aced it — more so than anyone ever imagined.”
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