Even Israelis who do not agree with Netanyahu’s hard-line positions didn’t like to see their prime minister treated by the US as if he were the leader of Upper Volta. Indeed, he did, after all, announce last year that contrary to his Likud Party’s previous position, he was now willing to accept a two-state solution – a position that is still anathema to many Likud members, as well to at least three of the smaller parties in his government coalition.
祸不单行的是，美国人的做法不但浪费了宝贵的时间，还造成了进一步的伤害。即便是那些不支持内塔尼亚胡强硬政策的以色列人也不愿意看到他被美国人当作某非洲小国元首来看待。事实上，内塔尼亚胡也曾在去年作出声明，推翻其所属利库德集团的原先立场，同意接受一个两国方案——这个决定如今依然使许多利库德集团成员感到恼火，而其执政联盟内部也至少有三个党派表示反对。