I have been reminded by a number of correspondents that the
Likud Party was not asked to form the government in Israel
until February of 2009 which means that Benjamin Netanyahu could not have
ordered the attack on Gaza
that came at the end of 2008. And yet, I said in my last posting that Netanyahu
was the one who ordered the attack on Gaza
that killed 1,300 Palestinians. Moreover, I failed to mention that the acting
Prime Minister at the time was Tzipi Livni who had replaced Ehud Olmert at the
helm of the Kadima Party.
All this is true when you look at it from the point of view
of histrionics which I should have given weight to and considered in my
presentation. But I neglected to do this because I was geared to the theatrics
of the whole event more than the sequence of its parts. The way my thought
process was geared at the time was that I concentrated on the ceasefire that
was brokered by Egypt
between Hamas and Israel
earlier in 2008. It was accepted by Kadima but rejected by Netanyahu who was in
opposition and had, in fact, refused to join the coalition government of Ms.
Livni. He attacked the ceasefire vehemently in the Knesset, and to my mind,
this was the incitement that led to the shooting war that came about later in
the year.
Thus, to my mind, even though Benjamin Netanyahu may not
have been legally responsible for the crime, he was behind it wholeheartedly
thus morally responsible for it as much as anyone else. I understand that there
is a warrant to arrest Ms. Livni in England for what happened during
that war, but I believe that a few other people must also be given the same
treatment. I should have thought of this while writing the article, and should
have clarified what I meant. But I did not have the presence of mind to do so
then and I recognize my failing.
I thank those who reminded me of these facts, and I hope
that everyone else will forgive me for the confusion I created.