Netanyahu's botched assassination attempts

Less than two years after he was voted into office primarily on the promise of providing the Israeli people with peace and security, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has put his people at risk of losing both.

His reckless shortsighted policies are threatening the collapse of the very delicate peacemaking process that was carefully nurtured over the last five years.

Netanyahu is, obviously, a leader with no vision other than that of realizing short-term gains which begin and end with television in sound bites and newspapers headlines. What he has miserably failed to understand is that peace is the only option for everybody in this region, that bringing such a peace needs clear strategies not theatrical performances.

The botched assassination attempt against Khalid Mashaal, chairman of Hamas politburo, is the latest in a series of ill- conceived and stupid decisions the prime minister has made. Netanyahu has violated a sacred code of conduct by authorizing the assassination attempt in Jordan.

What Netanyahu did was try to export terrorism to a friendly country, jeopardize the aspirations of his people for a peaceful life and show the world that he could not be trusted with the fate of the peace process. It is now up to the Israeli people and the international community to prevent Netanyahu from denying the Middle East the peace for which it has long yearned.

-- The Jordan Times, Amman