That's Odd

Yehiel Leiter, who served as Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff in the Finance Ministry, as aide to Limor Livnat, as head of One Israel Fund and who directed the Yesha Council Foreign Office, not to mention directing the Hebron Fund some 18 years ago, and who is known to me personally, wrote this:-

In all matters pertaining to future diplomatic processes, the Likud movement must declare that it would not honor any agreement that does not safeguard the principle of “defensible borders” for the State of Israel, or that calls for the uprooting of Jewish communities, or does not require the other side to give something clear in return.

Now, I could very well be mistaken but I don't think that last bit was phrased properly and here's the original Hebrew, if you want to check the translation:-

בכל הנוגע להליכים מדיניים עתידיים, על תנועת הליכוד להצהיר שלא תכבד כל הסכם שאיננו שומר על העיקרון של "גבולות בני הגנה" למדינת ישראל, התחייבות לעקור יישובים יהודיים, או הסכם שאיננו דורש תמורה ברורה מהצד השני. )

As published, it would appear to suggest that as long as we get "something in return" (what has clear to do with this?), we can give up and yield. That doesn't seem right. Well, at least as an opening position.

Even the Likud, or someone who may be considering himself as a future MK, should have written something like this:

At this moment in the history of negotiations between Israel and the Arabs of this region, and especially based on the experience of the past 14 years, that is, since the Oslo Accords, Israel cannot yield anything.

The Arabs have shown an unwillingness to abide by any agreement and committment reached, have not given up terror, have instructed a whole new generation to hate Israel and Judaism and have trained these youngsters to view themselves as martyrs, have generated the suicide bomber, have not honored even agreements between themselves, continue to target civilians, elected a terror gang as a government, have not fully compromised on the so-called two-state solution, have damaged the Temple Mount and other Jewish religious sites and other acts against humanity.

Only when Israel is convinced that the situation has reached a level of security and reeducation will any sort of reciprocity be engaged.

I am not at all happy with all that but it reads to me a lot better than what Yehiel wrote.