‘’What should be done is to save the Palestinian Authority from collapsing,” Israel’s leading Mideast affairs expert Ehud Yaari told European Jewish Press.

”Josep Borrell has made in the past several statements that make the Israeli government understands that there is no great use in discussing with him. You have better addresses in Brussels and in the EU to discuss what can really be done.’’

‘’I wish Europe should understand that the main Iranian effort is to obtain hegemony all over the Levant. And then they will deal with the Gulf….”

 

‘’The European Union cannot just stick to slogans and sometimes slander and seek a quick solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict  that is not available unfortunately,’’ believes Ehud Yaari, Israeli leading expert on Middle East affairs.

‘’Because the Palestinians are not ready. This is the root of the problem. They are not ready for a deal on a two-state solution. And they are telling us, either we get a state for free like in Gaza in 2005, without any agreement and concession on their part, or we will keep falling in Israel’s arms. They are threatening us with a one-state solution which is not a solution,” he told European Jewish Press (EJP).’

Yaari, who was in Brussels and London for briefings organized by Europe Israel Press Association (EIPA), is convinced that ‘’what should be done is to save the Palestinian Authority.’’ ‘’It doesn’t start with another round of negotiations which will lead nowhere but with a ciombined effort by  EU, the US, the other donor states and Israel, with help from the Gulf states, to fix the Palestinian Authority which is slowly fading away, collapsing. The way to do it is for the donor states to ask PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to appoint a government that is going to deal with the real needs of the population in the economy, social services, reform the security agencies of the PA that are totally bankrupt, in return for Israeli financial assistance. But also for Israel stopping expanding settlements in the West Bank, stopping some other moves that are made, restrain radical elements amongst the settlers and revising the economic agreement what is called the Paris Accords to the benefit of the Palestinians.’’

‘’ That’s the immediate thing to do otherwise we can talk about slogans and resolutions of the conflict from here to eternity, It will get us nowhere,’’ he added.

Asked how EU High Representative for foreign policy  Josep Borrell can deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with EU foreign ministers while he never visited Israel since his appointment in 2019, Yaari mentioned the fact that ‘’he made in the past several statements that make the Israeli government understands that there is no great use in discussing with him.’’ ‘’You have better addresses in Brussels and in the EU to discuss what can really be done.’’

He continued, ‘’When Mr Borrell comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he is still in the land of dreams and slogans….That’s not helpful. It hurts any possibility of making any progress on the ground, politically and otherwise. So Israel has basically written off Mr Borrell as a potential partner for serious moves.’’

Regarding Iran, which seems to have been emboldened by  recent developments like reports of indirect talks with the US on a possible nuclear agreement or the rapprochement with the Gulf states, Yaari thinks that ‘’Europe generally speaking – as not every member state is the same- fails to understand that as much as the nuclear problem is crucial, the major issue with Iran is its successful effort to gain predominance all over the Levant.’’

‘’They are already in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. And I think that the EU neglects the need to help Jordan protects itself from the Iranian proxy militias. I believe that a deal with Iran will not be an official deal but an understanding between the US and Mr Mora (the EU’s mediator in talks on the nuclear issue). It will make the Iranians stop where they are. It will not take them back. But, unlike many of my countrymen, I have been convinced for a long time that the Iranians will be very careful not to cross the red line and assemble a bomb. An this, for two reasons: if they do it, they will get isolated in the internation scene, they ‘ll get sanctions. They are not interested in that. And if they have a bomb, what exactly are they going to do with it? The second reason is that if they are going for a bomb, others will also go : Erdogan’s Turkey said that, Egyp’s Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi, Mohammed ben Salman of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed ben Zayed of the UAE… They will not be alone….’’

‘’I wish Europe should understand that the main Iranian effort is to obtain hegemony all over the Levant. And then they will deal with the Gulf….They have taken a decision that it will be first the Levant by taking advantage of the civil war in Syria, the meltdown in Lebanon and the Shiite majority in Iraq in order to take over to different degrees. This Iranian offensive should be stopped. The way to stop it: first on the border of Jordan, otherwise I believe Jordan will fall, and secondly prevent the Iranians from gaining the upper hand among the Palestinians.’’

A commentator on Channel 12, Israel’s most viewed tv, Ehud Yaari  believes that the main threat today to Israel is the attempt by the government coalition to change the nature of the Israeli democracy and subdue the judicial system so that the Supreme Court will be under a sort of control of the government.

‘’This is unacceptable and this can lead to a very dangerous divide among the Israelis. I can see a situation if they pursue with this plan and I think they will not, we could have a situation of civil disobedience in Israel, massive protests in the streets, that’s the main danger.’’

But he also considers Iran’s plan to surround Israel with a ring of fire, arsenal of missiles all around as a major threat. ‘’All their proxies are paid by Iran and commanded by IRGC officers. I just red a reliable report that the Iranians are now building a new base just south of Damascus…  Israel has managed to destroy some 80, 90 % of the Iranian military investment in Syria. But this doesn’t stop them… It is an ongoing problem and I believe that the Israeli government had to be more pro-active over the past decade in stopping it. Our government and general staff were too cautious. But from now on,  we might be more determined in foiling their attempts. If for example Syrian President Assad allows them creeping in militarily, some sort of a war machine on its territory, we should be threatening the Assad regime. We didn’t do that so far….’’

Ehud Yaari is a fellow at The Washington Institute for Nerar East Policy. He is the author of eight books on the Arab-Israeli conflict and received numerous awards for journalism for his media coverage of the Middle East during the last two decades. He is a regular contributor to New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Foreign Affairs and Atlantic.