Paris is probably the city you come to to keep alive the imaginary “peace process”. About four years ago, Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas held a media meeting in the French capital in which a pair of people yesterday did not miss a single recycled cliché from yesterday: it is possible and necessary to reach “peace”, Israel is ready and must offer more concessions, must move forward to make history, and of course: For a two-state solution. “
If this sounds familiar to you, an almost identical slogan was heard in the same city yesterday, when Emanuel Macron received Prime Minister Lapid for his first official political visit. “There is no substitute for returning to negotiations,” the president said, referring to the Palestinian issue, adding: “There is no better time than this to return to talks. We need to ensure concrete progress.”
As in that strange encounter four years ago between two aging and irrelevant figures, the two personalities who were photographed embracing yesterday also have something in common today. Yair Lapid is a transitional prime minister in a fixed term and without a majority in the Knesset, facing an extensive political and economic crisis and is in the midst of an election campaign; Although Emanuel Macron recently won a second term, about three weeks ago he suffered a severe blow in the parliamentary elections when he lost the majority in the National Assembly, and beyond the political crisis he also faced a deep economic and social crisis. Attempts to restore stability to Lebanon have failed and of course the great headache comes from the war in the East.
Like Lapid, Macron has so far shown no significant achievements in the field of foreign policy, and demonstrates an outdated understanding of everything related to strategic perception in general, and the Middle East in particular. Foreign Minister Lapid soon managed, contrary to all Israeli interests, to quarrel with both sides in the Russia-Ukraine war, create another unnecessary crisis with Poland, zigzag sharply with Iran and Turkey, publish in an official account the PA’s response to the attack in Tel Aviv, dispel embarrassing incidents from Dubai To Morocco and respond to the discourse of dangerous hallucinations such as the “right of return.” On the Jordanian front, Israel has agreed to relinquish more pieces of sovereignty in Jerusalem as a reward for terrorism,
Also on the Iranian front, Lapid offered mostly talk. From the very beginning of his tenure, he hastened to assure the Secretary of State in Linkan a policy of “zero surprises”, in which Israel watches from the sidelines while the ayatollahs gallop to the bomb, and in fact Gives up in advance For any struggle in the promiscuous nuclear agreement. He later won candy in the form of a well-publicized summit in the Negev along with representatives of Arab countries and the same Blinkan, the man who literally begs to give the Iranians the agreement of their dreams. There were also many smiles and handshakes, and even the deadly attack in Hadera did not interfere with the prestigious dinner. Lapid’s show of strength was in fact a display of Israeli weakness that came too little and too late. In Sde Boker they were photographed but in Bushehr they continued to work as usual.
Under Lapid as foreign minister, the parade of ministers and Knesset members who made a pilgrimage to the Muqata in Ramallah was re-photographed alongside Abbas, chanting a “political process” – another free gift to the biggest peace-refuser, himself embroiled in a brutal succession struggle. Hamas in Gaza continues to enjoy shipments of construction materials and other choppers courtesy of Israel, and in the north it seems that the Syrians and Lebanese are once again examining the borders. US President Biden will pay a visit soon where he is expected to offer Abbas more gestures, and in the big picture it seems that our political situation is not particularly bright.
In the midst of all this, President Macron chose to define the caretaker Prime Minister Lapid as the “historical figure who will bring peace” who is irreplaceable with the Palestinians. But as we have learned in recent years, there is definitely a substitute. The real peace process that began in the Abrahamic Accords has finally brought a new line to the Middle East and a real rapprochement between Israel and its neighbors, among other things out of a common interest in curbing the growing Iranian threat, while pushing the Palestinian issue to its marginal place.
Although Lapid spoke in Paris about Iran and Hezbollah, it seems that his colleague was mainly interested in the marginal issue. Europe continues to persuade the Iranians to return to the negotiating table to grant them a dream nuclear deal for Tehran, while at the same time not abandoning the obsession with the “conflict” between the Palestinians and Israel. This perception stubbornly ignores regional circumstances and trends of change, and continues to promote those old and failed “solutions”. In this respect, the warm embrace between the pair of swinging leaders in Paris may turn out to be a dangerous bear embrace for Israel. Add to that Lapid’s tendency to step on every possible mine, and there is certainly room for concern.