MAYBE THEY COULD CLONE SHARON?:

The Wall Street Journal quoted Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, who offered the obvious Palestinian explanation. "Netanyahu hates Palestinians so much that he is willing to absolve Hitler of the murder of six million Jews," he said. Netanyahu "should stop using this human tragedy to score points for his political end."

Many Israelis couldn't help but agree with Erekat -- the absurdity of Netanyahu's accusation appeared nothing less than the flailing of a desperate leader out of moves. If he refuses to negotiate with the Palestinians under fire, the violence will likely increase, perhaps spiraling out of control. (YNet posted a video interview with the head of the Tanzim, a militant Palestinian faction, threatening much more violence -- that Abbas will not be able to quell -- if Netanyahu does not give the Palestinians more cause for hope.) If Netanyahu does show flexibility, however, he knows that just as the First Intifada led to the Oslo accords and the Second Intifada to the 2005 withdrawal from Gaza, he will be rewarding Palestinian violence and setting the stage for more.

Many Israelis think that Netanyahu ignored the Palestinian issue for years because he believed that the status quo could be maintained and he was singularly focused on Iran. He lost the Iran battle -- the approval of the deal he vigorously opposed is no longer in doubt.

It was thus particularly noteworthy that Israel's Atomic Energy Commission came out in favor of the Iran deal this week, saying that it would probably prevent Tehran from getting a nuclear bomb. That announcement was another symbolic stab at the prime minster. Israelis, tired of the violence and worried about what may lie ahead, are increasingly muttering that Netanyahu fought the wrong battle and then lost it. 

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