As Mark Landler notes here -- -- the Israeli government has work to do. Right now Netanyahu is taking the same kind of ideology-first position on negotiating with Palestinians that Bush took on all items he deemed terrorism-related. Netanyahu, apparently supported by his diplomatic corps, chooses to ignore the facts of the situation:
* Israel no longer holds the moral high ground, and has lost the diplomatic and public relations battle, even with Hamas, over the last few years. Despite the pandering from otherwise rational people like Senator Chuck Schumer (who must always agree with the Israeli lobby because his base is in New York City), world opinion has come to sympathize with the Palestinian plight.
* Israel's security depends on the cooperation of other nations, like the US and Egypt. By doing weird stuff like trying to seal Gaza, the Israelis undermine that cooperation.
*Israel can not protect itself through settlement of the West Bank. The whole "facts on the ground" approach has been a dismal failure, and even in the short run can't work. Palestinians will not go away.
Netanyahu may have hoped that Obama would have disappeared by now, having lost the health care debate. His anlalysts, like the Republican Party, got that guess wrong, and have to move on from it. Obama will not disappear.
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