“The strategic question is open. Nobody knows whether we can achieve peace with the Palestinians in the near future. But the tactical question is closed. It is absolutely clear that Israel must do everything to achieve peace with the Palestinians in the near future. Even if peace is impossible, Israel must not refuse it. Israel must launch a peace initiative if it wants to be on the right side of the war for peace.

The problem is credit. Due to the occupation, Israel has no international credit in the 21st century. Israel cannot exist without international credit. So every prime minister’s first duty is to create a credit line in which Israel can function. Ariel Sharon 1 beat the second intifada thanks to the international credit his predecessor Ehud Barak provided him at Camp David. Sharon 2 did well thanks to the international credit the disengagement afforded him. Ehud Olmert received generous international credit for the Annapolis Conference. Benjamin Netanyahu received scanty international credit due to his speech at Bar-Ilan University. But now the credit is dwindling. Israel’s international credit shortage has become a credit suffocation.”

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