Netanyahu's policies

Just as suddenly as the decision was taken, it was retracted. Israel suddenly has no plans to drill for oil on the Golan Heights, after deciding only the day before that it would indeed start the operation.

Given that Israel and Syria had a war of words that recently threatened to escalate into something much bigger than vocabulary, the plan to drill was provocative at best. And at a time when Arab-Israeli relations are at their lowest since the 1993 peace accord, it certainly did not make sense or make relations any less tense.

Yet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the request, without consulting the military about the possible consequences.

But Netanyahu must have been aware of the consequences. Otherwise, why did he order a deployment of tanks, vehicles and armored cars to head in the direction of the Syrian border over the last three days?

It can only be construed that Netanyahu knew he was putting himself in hot water. The National Oil Company has a concession for oil searches in the Golan and in the past, there were indeed plans for drilling there. But the company's request to drill was rejected out of hand by the previous Israeli government out of concern that it would be perceived as provocative.

How could it be seen as anything else or anything less? Syria, as expected and rightly so, called the intended drilling a dangerous escalation that did nothing to promote peace and security.

Why, then, the decision in the first place? Greed is a likely answer. Possible oil in the Heights could mean a boon for Israel's sagging economy. Oil whetted Netanyahu's appetite. He ordered the drilling, but saw the heat it was generating and the consequences that might come from it. He then decided to shut the file on the whole deal with the lame excuse that the company was, after all, not really his.

Is it possible Netanyahu did not know the company was about to be privatized? Is it possible the minister concerned, Ariel Sharon, was in the dark as well? Doubtful.

The decision to drill is eerily reminiscent of a previous Netanyahu out-of-the-blue decision he took: to open the al-Aqsa tunnel. We all know what happened after that ill-fated move.

That Netanyahu backtracked on the oil drilling plan in the last hour perhaps shows he has learned some lessons. That he intended to start the drilling shows he still has a lot to learn.

-- Arab News, Riyadh