Israeli defense minister announces resignation

[webfact]

Israeli defense minister announces resignation

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's defense minister announced his resignation on Friday, citing a lack of "trust" in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after reports in recent days that he is soon to be replaced.

In a Facebook post, Moshe Yaalon said that he told Netanyahu that "following his conduct in recent developments and in light of the lack of trust in him, I am resigning from the government and the Knesset (Israel's parliament) and taking a time out from political life."

Netanyahu and Yaalon have clashed in recent days over the role of the military in public discourse, with the prime minister arguing that military officials should not discuss policy matters publicly.

Tensions between Yaalon and Netanyahu escalated in March, when military leaders criticized a soldier who was caught on video fatally shooting an already-wounded Palestinian attacker. The solider is now on trial for manslaughter. While Yaalon has backed the military, hard-liners have backed the soldier.

Reports over the past few days indicate that Netanyahu intends to appoint former foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman to the post. Lieberman, 57, is one of the country's most polarizing politicians. Over three decades, he has at times been Netanyahu's closest ally and at other times a fierce rival.

Netanyahu this week invited Lieberman's ultranationalist Yisrael Beteinu party to shore up his shaky parliamentary coalition and negotiation teams have been meeting to hammer out the details of their alliance.

Yaalon's resignation solidifies the takeover of hardliners in the party.

Cabinet Minister Gila Gamliel said that Yaalon's leaving is a "tremendous loss" for the ruling Likud party. She told Israel Radio she believes it was a "mistake" not to offer Yaalon another position and keep him in the coalition.

Many Israelis have questioned the wisdom of appointing Lieberman to the sensitive post of defense minister over Yaalon, a former army chief of staff who is generally respected for his knowledge of military affairs. Polls commissioned by Israeli TV stations broadcast Thursday showed that a majority of Israelis prefer Yaalon as defense minister over Lieberman.

Lieberman has held a number of Cabinet posts in the past, including stints as foreign minister.

His hard-line stance has made him an influential voice at home but has at times alienated Israel's allies overseas. He has questioned the loyalty of Israel's Arab minority and confronted Israel's foreign critics. He has expressed skepticism over pursuing peace with the Palestinians, and is now pushing a proposal to impose the death penalty against Arabs convicted of acts of terrorism.

With Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts in a deep freeze, Lieberman's addition to the government could push the prospect of reviving talks even further into the distance.

Lieberman rose to prominence as the engineer of Netanyahu's successful run for prime minister in 1996, and he later became Netanyahu's chief of staff.

His tough stances have long stoked controversy. As a Cabinet minister last decade, he called for the bombing of Palestinian gas stations, banks and commercial centers.

He also led a recent parliamentary drive to exclude Arab parties from running for election — a move that was overturned by Israel's Supreme Court.

Yet despite his rhetoric, Lieberman has shown signs of pragmatism. He served as a Cabinet minister in two centrist Israeli governments, though he was fired for opposing Israel's 2005 withdrawal from Gaza and resigned to protest peace talks that begun at the 2007 conference in Annapolis. His plan for redrawing Israel's borders would also mean dismantling some Jewish settlements.


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-05-20

[Clutch]

'His plan for redrawing Israel's borders would also mean dismantling some Jewish settlements.'

AKA: One for you two for me, one for you two for me....

[Thorgal]

In short, Lieberman, an extreme right politician will dispose entirely of the nuclear arsenal of Israel.

Sergeant Elor Azria provoked a real u-turn for the progressive politics...

[ilostmypassword]

This is like putting a Klan member in charge of the Justice Dept.Here are some more details about Lieberman.

Here are some choice quotes from Avigdor Lieberman

"Israeli Arabs who are disloyal to the State of Israel should have their heads chopped off, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said at an elections conference at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya this week.

"Those who are against us, there's nothing to be done – we need to pick up an ax and cut off his head," Lieberman said. "Otherwise we won't survive here."

http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/1.646076

"A storm erupted in the Knesset plenum yesterday, following Transport Minister Avigdor Lieberman's reported proposal to provide buses to take the Palestinian prisoners that Israel releases to a place "whence they will not return."

According to another report, Lieberman said the prisoners should be drowned in the Dead Sea and he would provide the buses to take them there."

http://www.haaretz.com/lieberman-blasted-for-suggesting-drowning-palestinian-prisoners-1.93554

According to the Yediot account, Lieberman urged that Palestinians be told to halt all terror activity or face wide-ranging attacks.

"At 8 a.m. we'll bomb all the commercial centers ... at noon we'll bomb their gas stations ... at 2 we'll bomb their banks," Lieberman reportedly told the meeting before Peres interrupted to say: "And at 6 p.m., you'll receive an invitation to the international tribunal in The Hague."

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/03/06/mideast-gaza.htm

[Class C]

It was a long time ago in 2001 but Lieberman said that if Egypt's leader, Mubarak, put forces into the Sinai then Israel would have to respond strongly, including bombing the Aswan Dam in Egypt

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-lieberman-quotes-sb-idUSTRE52U3FU20090401

[dundee48]

This is like putting a Klan member in charge of the Justice Dept.Here are some more details about Lieberman.

Here are some choice quotes from Avigdor Lieberman

"Israeli Arabs who are disloyal to the State of Israel should have their heads chopped off, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said at an elections conference at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya this week.

"Those who are against us, there's nothing to be done – we need to pick up an ax and cut off his head," Lieberman said. "Otherwise we won't survive here."

http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/1.646076

"A storm erupted in the Knesset plenum yesterday, following Transport Minister Avigdor Lieberman's reported proposal to provide buses to take the Palestinian prisoners that Israel releases to a place "whence they will not return."

According to another report, Lieberman said the prisoners should be drowned in the Dead Sea and he would provide the buses to take them there."

http://www.haaretz.com/lieberman-blasted-for-suggesting-drowning-palestinian-prisoners-1.93554

According to the Yediot account, Lieberman urged that Palestinians be told to halt all terror activity or face wide-ranging attacks.

"At 8 a.m. we'll bomb all the commercial centers ... at noon we'll bomb their gas stations ... at 2 we'll bomb their banks," Lieberman reportedly told the meeting before Peres interrupted to say: "And at 6 p.m., you'll receive an invitation to the international tribunal in The Hague."

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/03/06/mideast-gaza.htm

So he`s not all bad then.

[Jingthing]

He does sound extremely extremist. I can actually understand the argument for loyalty oaths, not sure that's a good idea but it's in the realm of reasonable discussion but head chopping. That's appalling.

[GeorgesAbitbol]

Liberman, the russian guy who wanted to put all the arabs living in Israel in "special camps"... that summarizes thr politic of Bibi

[up-country_sinclair]

I'm not sure why, but the article in the OP didn't include this line from Yaalon's resignation letter:

extremist and dangerous elements have taken over Israel

Nice for someone in the Israeli establishment to finally admit that this is true.

Edited May 20, 2016 by up-country_sinclair

[ilostmypassword]

He does sound extremely extremist. I can actually understand the argument for loyalty oaths, not sure that's a good idea but it's in the realm of reasonable discussion but head chopping. That's appalling.

The question is what would the penalty be for not taking a loyalty oath.

[Jingthing]

The Israeli government deserves harsh criticism about Liberman.

However, Israel is still a democracy and governments and defense ministers are subject to change:

Through these experiences, I saw a recently formed state that has become a democratic institution rivaling the oldest democracies in the world. Despite the youth of the new Israeli state, I saw, without exaggeration, a bright flame in a pitch-black region. I realized that without a doubt, the secret to Israeli’s existence in spite of all the dangers and controversy that surround it is the democracy and freedom of Israeli society, a society composed of so many different yet coexisting segments and components

http://fikraforum.org/?p=8877#.Vz7LSPTXeJK

In other words, extremists like Liberman are a very good reason to oppose the current Israeli GOVERNMENT. They are are very poor reasons to support BDS or to not support Israel's right to exist and defend itself.

Edited May 20, 2016 by Jingthing

[ilostmypassword]

The Israeli government deserves harsh criticism about Liberman.

However, Israel is still a democracy and governments and defense ministers are subject to change:

Through these experiences, I saw a recently formed state that has become a democratic institution rivaling the oldest democracies in the world. Despite the youth of the new Israeli state, I saw, without exaggeration, a bright flame in a pitch-black region. I realized that without a doubt, the secret to Israeli’s existence in spite of all the dangers and controversy that surround it is the democracy and freedom of Israeli society, a society composed of so many different yet coexisting segments and components

http://fikraforum.org/?p=8877#.Vz7LSPTXeJK

In other words, extremists like Liberman are a very good reason to oppose the current Israeli GOVERNMENT. They are are very poor reasons to support BDS or to not support Israel's right to exist and defend itself.

ti

40 years ago people like Netanyahu would have been considered extremist. Israel is steadily moving further and further into repressive policies. As long as it continues to colonize the West Bank, Israel will continue to become more and more extreme. At what point do you say enough is enough? Remember, in a recent poll, a majority of Israeli Jews were in favor of eviction all Israeli Arabs out of Israel. And the people overwhelmingly in favor of this policy were the Haridim, who are the fastest growing segment of Israeli society.The trends point to this eviction happening sooner rather than later. If the time comes when Israeli Arabs actually are being evicted wholesale from Israel, will you still be piously chanting for a decent political movement to save Israel from itself? You might say that such a thing is unthinkable. Until a short time ago, so was the nomination of Donald Trump to be the Republican candidate for President.

Edited May 21, 2016 by ilostmypassword

[Scott]

Off-topic, baiting posts removed.

[Srikcir]

Hello Liberman

Goodbye One State solution

Hello Two State solution

[Morch]

'His plan for redrawing Israel's borders would also mean dismantling some Jewish settlements.'

AKA: One for you two for me, one for you two for me....

Lieberman Plan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieberman_Plan

[Morch]

In short, Lieberman, an extreme right politician will dispose entirely of the nuclear arsenal of Israel.

Sergeant Elor Azria provoked a real u-turn for the progressive politics...

In short, a generic drivel post.

The Minister of Defense does not have complete command and control over a country's nuclear arsenal. Not in Israel, and not elsewhere.

Which progressive politics evidenced a U-turn?

[ilostmypassword]

'His plan for redrawing Israel's borders would also mean dismantling some Jewish settlements.'

AKA: One for you two for me, one for you two for me....

Lieberman Plan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieberman_Plan

"While there are three major Arab regions in Israel, all contiguous with the West Bank (southern and central Galilee, the central region known as "the Triangle", and the Bedouinregion in the northern part of the Negev desert), the Lieberman Plan only advocates ceding the Triangle."

In other words, one for you and two for me.

[Morch]

Liberman, the russian guy who wanted to put all the arabs living in Israel in "special camps"... that summarizes thr politic of Bibi

Would you have a link referring to this statement?

Lieberman's political ideas are not the same as Netanyahu's. A main difference would be Lieberman's support of a two-state solution.

[Morch]

'His plan for redrawing Israel's borders would also mean dismantling some Jewish settlements.'

AKA: One for you two for me, one for you two for me....

Lieberman Plan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieberman_Plan

"While there are three major Arab regions in Israel, all contiguous with the West Bank (southern and central Galilee, the central region known as "the Triangle", and the Bedouinregion in the northern part of the Negev desert), the Lieberman Plan only advocates ceding the Triangle."

In other words, one for you and two for me.

The purpose of posting the link was not to support Lieberman's Plan, but to provide background for those interested in more than one liners.

Not much into reducing discussions to catchphrases,one liners, slogans and talking points.

[Morch]

I'm not sure why, but the article in the OP didn't include this line from Yaalon's resignation letter:

extremist and dangerous elements have taken over Israel

Nice for someone in the Israeli establishment to finally admit that this is true.

The OP quotes Yaalon's Facebook post. The resignation speech was hours later.

A (more or less) full account of the speech can be found here - http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.720653.

Conveniently, the cherry picked quote ignores the preceding bit - "In general, Israeli society is a healthy society, and the majority of it is sane and aims for a Jewish, democratic and liberal country".

As for "Israeli establishment" - would that include Israel's Supreme Court, Parliamentary opposition, esteemed members of the academy and the press?

[chilli42]

What are they thinking? The situation is not bad enough already?

[Morch]

What are they thinking? The situation is not bad enough already?

What "they"? The only one making decisions on this matter was Netanyahu (or if persistent reports are to be believed, Mrs. Netanyahu).

Netanyahu's foremost consideration is political survival. Taking Yaalon out of the equation allows him to add Lieberman's Party and bolster his narrow coalition. It also serves getting rid of a potential political rival within his own party.

A few extra bonus points:

- Throw the opposition into disarray. Netanyahu was simultaneously negotiating with the main centrist-left party for a similar move. This was controversial to begin with, and as it came to naught, backstabbing and score settling over there.

- No hassle from Lieberman's criticism as vocal opposition. The new deal specifies certain domestic issues will not be raised during the government's term.

- Less domestic pressure when rejecting peace initiatives. Can always cite coalition restrictions, pose as a relative moderate and blame those who did not join his coalition (see first point).

[ilostmypassword]

I'm not sure why, but the article in the OP didn't include this line from Yaalon's resignation letter:

extremist and dangerous elements have taken over Israel

Nice for someone in the Israeli establishment to finally admit that this is true.

The OP quotes Yaalon's Facebook post. The resignation speech was hours later.

A (more or less) full account of the speech can be found here - http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.720653.

Conveniently, the cherry picked quote ignores the preceding bit - "In general, Israeli society is a healthy society, and the majority of it is sane and aims for a Jewish, democratic and liberal country".

As for "Israeli establishment" - would that include Israel's Supreme Court, Parliamentary opposition, esteemed members of the academy and the press?

majority of it is sane and aims for a Jewish, democratic and liberal country"

I think this portion of the sentence is political boilerplate. Most of it may be sane but no longer does the majojrity aim for a Jewish, democratic, and liberal country. Polls overwhelmingly show that not only is this statement false, but it's getting further from the truth all the time. Was it even imaginable 20 years ago to have a creature like Lieberman as Defense Minister? Sure it's a clever short term ploy, but it just builds up his resume for the future. Who knows, some day soon we may see Prime Minister Lieberman and President Trump at a summit meeting. Maybe that should be called a nadir meeting?

[Morch]

I'm not sure why, but the article in the OP didn't include this line from Yaalon's resignation letter:

extremist and dangerous elements have taken over Israel

Nice for someone in the Israeli establishment to finally admit that this is true.

The OP quotes Yaalon's Facebook post. The resignation speech was hours later.

A (more or less) full account of the speech can be found here - http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.720653.

Conveniently, the cherry picked quote ignores the preceding bit - "In general, Israeli society is a healthy society, and the majority of it is sane and aims for a Jewish, democratic and liberal country".

As for "Israeli establishment" - would that include Israel's Supreme Court, Parliamentary opposition, esteemed members of the academy and the press?

majority of it is sane and aims for a Jewish, democratic and liberal country"

I think this portion of the sentence is political boilerplate. Most of it may be sane but no longer does the majojrity aim for a Jewish, democratic, and liberal country. Polls overwhelmingly show that not only is this statement false, but it's getting further from the truth all the time. Was it even imaginable 20 years ago to have a creature like Lieberman as Defense Minister? Sure it's a clever short term ploy, but it just builds up his resume for the future. Who knows, some day soon we may see Prime Minister Lieberman and President Trump at a summit meeting. Maybe that should be called a nadir meeting?

And I still think that the poster I replied to was cherry picking.

As for your own comment - there is no denying Israel's shift to the right. How deep the trend runs or how irreversible it is, can be matters of some debate. While Yaalon's view might be a trifle optimistic, most polls do not show "overwhelming" majority supporting each and every disturbing policy and statement. In general, public opinion polls are tricky, and with the issues at hand, even more so. If polling was accurate, Netanyahu's parliamentary opposition would be in a way better position by now, just sayin'.

The failure to address these trends can be attributed to the inability of the opposition in presenting a realistic and relevant alternative to Netanyahu. A lot of this got to do with objective difficulties, such as the Palestinian side not being very helpful or discriminant, other Middle East threats being real. It is not that hard to play on people's fears (as Netanyahu often does) when living in this particular neighborhood.

As often posted, long term thinking is not what most politicians are about. Netanyahu is no different. I doubt that the possible long term effects of Lieberman's appointment figure in his decision making process.

[ilostmypassword]

majority of it is sane and aims for a Jewish, democratic and liberal country"

The OP quotes Yaalon's Facebook post. The resignation speech was hours later.

A (more or less) full account of the speech can be found here - http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.720653.

Conveniently, the cherry picked quote ignores the preceding bit - "In general, Israeli society is a healthy society, and the majority of it is sane and aims for a Jewish, democratic and liberal country".

As for "Israeli establishment" - would that include Israel's Supreme Court, Parliamentary opposition, esteemed members of the academy and the press?

I think this portion of the sentence is political boilerplate. Most of it may be sane but no longer does the majojrity aim for a Jewish, democratic, and liberal country. Polls overwhelmingly show that not only is this statement false, but it's getting further from the truth all the time. Was it even imaginable 20 years ago to have a creature like Lieberman as Defense Minister? Sure it's a clever short term ploy, but it just builds up his resume for the future. Who knows, some day soon we may see Prime Minister Lieberman and President Trump at a summit meeting. Maybe that should be called a nadir meeting?

And I still think that the poster I replied to was cherry picking.

As for your own comment - there is no denying Israel's shift to the right. How deep the trend runs or how irreversible it is, can be matters of some debate. While Yaalon's view might be a trifle optimistic, most polls do not show "overwhelming" majority supporting each and every disturbing policy and statement. In general, public opinion polls are tricky, and with the issues at hand, even more so. If polling was accurate, Netanyahu's parliamentary opposition would be in a way better position by now, just sayin'.

The failure to address these trends can be attributed to the inability of the opposition in presenting a realistic and relevant alternative to Netanyahu. A lot of this got to do with objective difficulties, such as the Palestinian side not being very helpful or discriminant, other Middle East threats being real. It is not that hard to play on people's fears (as Netanyahu often does) when living in this particular neighborhood.

As often posted, long term thinking is not what most politicians are about. Netanyahu is no different. I doubt that the possible long term effects of Lieberman's appointment figure in his decision making process.

First off, I didn't say polls show an overwhelming majority I said the polls overwhelming show that this statement is false. And anything can be a matter of Some debate. The question is how sensible are the respective positions in the debate. This is a long running and deep trend. I recall but cannot locate that at the time the decision was made for Israel to establish settlements in the West Bank, there was a lot of acrimony about that decision. Opponents predicted the current situation. That said I can't track this down. But whether or not Israelis predicted it. the result was predictable. if you colonize a territory where other people are already settled you are going to have conflict. And if you govern them under an unequal set of laws, that will only exacerbate the conflict. If it were Bosnian Muslims colonizing the West Bank and treating the locals the way the Israelis do, the results would be the same. And like all colonizers, to justify your actions, you begin to regard the locals as something less than full humans. Again this is not a development unique to Israel. In fact, where hasn't this been the case? There is nothing especially evil about the ideology that supports Israeli colonization. There's always an ideology and whatever name it goes by, it inevitably dehumanizes the people who stand in the way of its realization.

Edited May 21, 2016 by ilostmypassword

[Somtamnication]

Mr. Yaalon, a true hero. I wish more in position of power would also speak frankly, because that war-monger PM is getting ready to start WW3

[Morch]

majority of it is sane and aims for a Jewish, democratic and liberal country"

The OP quotes Yaalon's Facebook post. The resignation speech was hours later.

A (more or less) full account of the speech can be found here - http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.720653.

Conveniently, the cherry picked quote ignores the preceding bit - "In general, Israeli society is a healthy society, and the majority of it is sane and aims for a Jewish, democratic and liberal country".

As for "Israeli establishment" - would that include Israel's Supreme Court, Parliamentary opposition, esteemed members of the academy and the press?

I think this portion of the sentence is political boilerplate. Most of it may be sane but no longer does the majojrity aim for a Jewish, democratic, and liberal country. Polls overwhelmingly show that not only is this statement false, but it's getting further from the truth all the time. Was it even imaginable 20 years ago to have a creature like Lieberman as Defense Minister? Sure it's a clever short term ploy, but it just builds up his resume for the future. Who knows, some day soon we may see Prime Minister Lieberman and President Trump at a summit meeting. Maybe that should be called a nadir meeting?

And I still think that the poster I replied to was cherry picking.

As for your own comment - there is no denying Israel's shift to the right. How deep the trend runs or how irreversible it is, can be matters of some debate. While Yaalon's view might be a trifle optimistic, most polls do not show "overwhelming" majority supporting each and every disturbing policy and statement. In general, public opinion polls are tricky, and with the issues at hand, even more so. If polling was accurate, Netanyahu's parliamentary opposition would be in a way better position by now, just sayin'.

The failure to address these trends can be attributed to the inability of the opposition in presenting a realistic and relevant alternative to Netanyahu. A lot of this got to do with objective difficulties, such as the Palestinian side not being very helpful or discriminant, other Middle East threats being real. It is not that hard to play on people's fears (as Netanyahu often does) when living in this particular neighborhood.

As often posted, long term thinking is not what most politicians are about. Netanyahu is no different. I doubt that the possible long term effects of Lieberman's appointment figure in his decision making process.

First off, I didn't say polls show an overwhelming majority I said the polls overwhelming show that this statement is false. And anything can be a matter of Some debate. The question is how sensible are the respective positions in the debate. This is a long running and deep trend. I recall but cannot locate that at the time the decision was made for Israel to establish settlements in the West Bank, there was a lot of acrimony about that decision. Opponents predicted the current situation. That said I can't track this down. But whether or not Israelis predicted it. the result was predictable. if you colonize a territory where other people are already settled you are going to have conflict. And if you govern them under an unequal set of laws, that will only exacerbate the conflict. If it were Bosnian Muslims colonizing the West Bank and treating the locals the way the Israelis do, the results would be the same. And like all colonizers, to justify your actions, you begin to regard the locals as something less than full humans. Again this is not a development unique to Israel. In fact, where hasn't this been the case? There is nothing especially evil about the ideology that supports Israeli colonization. There's always an ideology and whatever name it goes by, it inevitably dehumanizes the people who stand in the way of its realization.

Rather than rely on polls, may want to refer to the election results. Guess that most voters for centrist or left wing oriented parties are to be included in Yaalon's view of Israeli society. Assuming not everyone voting for religious or right wing oriented parties is on board with any crackpot notion a politician airs, and adding it up, gives a more realistic take on things. Naturally, extreme voices are louder, and make for better headlines.

Some Israelis did voice concerns or prophesied doom with regard to the then fledgling illegal settlement effort. It was by no means a general view, and the circumstances were different. The repeated allusion and comparison to colonialism was addressed on a previous topic - to cap, the main difference with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the undeniable connection existing between Israelis (or Jews, it would depend on which period is discussed) and the territory in question. Such connections were largely non-existent when reviewing the suggested comparisons. The claim of generality glosses over the previous occupation (and annexation) of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank by Egypt and Jordan.

[Morch]

Mr. Yaalon, a true hero. I wish more in position of power would also speak frankly, because that war-monger PM is getting ready to start WW3

How is Yaalon a hero? For speaking frankly after being divested of his position of power?

Israel, Zionists, the Likud Party, Netanyahu's governments and the IDF get heavily criticized (not to say demonized) on these topics. Considering Yaalon is pretty much "yes to all of the above", it is rather funny to see how quickly he is embraced and glorified when it suits the agenda. But then again, .some posters "like to laugh".

Netanyahu set to start WW3? The man does not even have the cojones when it comes to more limited goals. But do bring up war-mongering....I like to laugh too.

[Somtamnication]

Mr. Yaalon, a true hero. I wish more in position of power would also speak frankly, because that war-monger PM is getting ready to start WW3

How is Yaalon a hero? For speaking frankly after being divested of his position of power?

Israel, Zionists, the Likud Party, Netanyahu's governments and the IDF get heavily criticized (not to say demonized) on these topics. Considering Yaalon is pretty much "yes to all of the above", it is rather funny to see how quickly he is embraced and glorified when it suits the agenda. But then again, .some posters "like to laugh".

Netanyahu set to start WW3? The man does not even have the cojones when it comes to more limited goals. But do bring up war-mongering....I like to laugh too.

Israeli settlements, raids around the region, kicking Palestinians from their homes, blah blah... Yes, those are all peace moves.

[Morch]

Mr. Yaalon, a true hero. I wish more in position of power would also speak frankly, because that war-monger PM is getting ready to start WW3

How is Yaalon a hero? For speaking frankly after being divested of his position of power?

Israel, Zionists, the Likud Party, Netanyahu's governments and the IDF get heavily criticized (not to say demonized) on these topics. Considering Yaalon is pretty much "yes to all of the above", it is rather funny to see how quickly he is embraced and glorified when it suits the agenda. But then again, .some posters "like to laugh".

Netanyahu set to start WW3? The man does not even have the cojones when it comes to more limited goals. But do bring up war-mongering....I like to laugh too.

Israeli settlements, raids around the region, kicking Palestinians from their homes, blah blah... Yes, those are all peace moves.

They are not, and it wasn't claimed. But neither are they anything on the scope of "getting ready to start WW3", as you posted. Making such a baseless statement while bringing up "war mongering" is pretty much up to the standards of what passes for informed argument on these topics.