WarSclerotic

Israel Hayom | Netanyahu has nothing to lose except losing.

Dan Margalit

From Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s point of view, the good half of the week ended when French President Francois Hollande made his way back to Paris. It’s true that the French president doubled down on his opposition to building in the settlements. Still, the meeting with Hollande was refreshing.

On Monday, after the string of Knesset declamations, commentators were saying that Hollande had softened France’s demands over the Iranians. That forecast could turn out to be true. But, given the content of the issues, as they played out during Hollande’s visit, there is no indication that this has already happened. From the outset, France and Israel shared a critical position over the Iran deal, though Jerusalem and Paris did not coordinate their stances in advance. The French caprice over Iran’s uranium enrichment at its nuclear facilities is a perfect example of the lack of coordination.

The second half of Netanyahu’s week is going to be even more hectic. He is heading out to Moscow on the assumption that Israel cannot afford to leave even one stone unturned. Netanyahu augustly pardoned Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for statements about him, and he knew better than to expect Russian President Vladimir Putin to try to curb Iran. Still, Russia has been attempting to revitalize the position it lost in Egypt 41 years ago, and Cairo is expecting somebody to confront Tehran.

Even the picture developing in the U.S. is obscure. U.S. President Barack Obama has been trying to mobilize the Senate leader behind an Iran deal. The fact that his adversary, Senator John McCain, offered him a lead does not indicate anything about the Senate’s position; that’s the political culture in the U.S. Even Obama knows he won’t be able to sign a deal with the ayatollahs’ regime, given Iran’s increasingly aggravating demands.

What could save the deal is if the Iranians fake throwing up their hands. What could save the world from a bad deal is if the ayatollahs harden their positions. The level of doubt over Iran’s behavior, to the point where even Washington, eager for a compromise with Tehran, could resist acquiescence, marked the core of Secretary of State John Kerry’s decision to take a rain check on his visit to Jerusalem this week; he’s not sure what might be in his hands come Friday.

No doubt, Israel is stuck in an inferior position. Even Hollande’s visit could not change that, mainly because the French president would not give up mixing the Iran deal with the settlement-development issue. But, in light of the current situation, just as peace talks are set to resume on Wednesday, there’s no reason Netanyahu should back off the process he has practically been leading himself. He’s still got the chance to succeed. He’s got nothing to lose by persevering. At least it shows integrity.

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