One of the main points that I brought up on another thread regarding this subject is that, whether some Israelis like it or not, Israel cannot get along without the friendship and support of the US. Right now, Israel is on thin-ice with the UN at large, and a lot of them are playing up concerns about the "plight of the Palestinians." Whatever their own motives, apparently Israel's labor party is concerned about Netanyahu jeopardizing Israel-US relations, and now they are threatening to leave the government if Netanyahu fails to smooth over his disagreement with the US. In the Business Week article linked in the hypertext, "Some Labor members have been calling on Netanyahu to include in his coalition the Kadima party of former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, which also supports a two-state solution, even at the expense of parties that oppose this formula." I believe that the strategy of including Kadima in his coalition would prove to the West that Israel has decided against aligning itself with the most extreme factions in its government, and it would suggest to me that Netanyahu has chosen to serve the regular people of Israel. Presently, Netanyahu is now in a position in which he could either seal himself as the helpless puppet of a right-wing ideology, or he could impress upon the world that he represents a legitimate government that has a vested interest in being a responsible, trusted member of the international community that has taken command of its own destiny.
