Jerusalem (AFP) – Fearing political storms at home and a last-ditch Christmad gambit by US President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday called on Jewish settlers to show restraint.
A postponement of the evacuation ordered by the Supreme Court of Israel would allow a “responsible” resolution to the issue. This is , a hot potato for Netanyahu’s right-wing government which leans heavily on settler support. “I am sure that at the end of the day the settlers will also act responsibly,” he added. “They know that there is not, and will not be, a government more supportive of settlement than this government.”
In the meantime there rumors that President Obama has a December surprise in wait for the Israeli PM. Netanyahu’s zeal for settlements in the occupied West Bank and close ties to the Tea Party extremists rankles Washington. While Trump policies are total unknown to the Israelis, Netanyahu reportedly fears that following next week’s US presidential election Obama could break with long-standing US practice and support — or at least not veto — a UN Security Council resolution laying out parameters for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.