07 July 2012

Leaked UK Foreign Office documents reveal attitudes towards Netanyahu and Palestinian incitement

The headline of this posting says it all (and is brought to you courtesy of the UK branch of Zionist Federation). Regrettably, it's not as if we didn't already know this. I would offer only one caveat: there can be, and often is, a marked difference between the views of and policy proposals of Foreign Office mandarins and what politicians say (and mean).

And that comes from someone who is not a fan of the current UK government.

I'll offer one quote only from the article (and there are further links within a long article to some of the documents referred to): 'Of specific interest is a document called “Research Paper FINAL” in which the following lines had previously been redacted by British Government officials:

“Netanyahu has a history of using the incitement issue as a delaying tactic in peace talks.” and “The history of this issue suggests that Netanyahu administrations have a tendency to charge the PA/PLO with incitement as a delaying tactic in peace talks.”'
Now, whether you believe that the Netanyahu government is like this or not, it is an extraordinary attitude from a supposed staunch ally of the same, even in a confidential document.

Do note how, unlike the Wikileaks documents, no full names are revealed. That's how to deal with leaks! The whole thing (and it's long) is here.

By Brian Goldfarb.

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