QUESTION ASKED: What are Netanyahu and Putin plotting?

In an appearance before the UN Security Council on Aug. 29, Nikolay Mladenov, a Russian and the UN envoy for peace in the Middle East, sharply criticized Israel’s policies in the territories. His criticism included harsh statements regarding the onset of recently announced construction work on units in West Bank settlements and East Jerusalem and the new “carrot and stick” policies of Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman toward West Bank Palestinians. Mladenov emphasized that Israel’s settlement policy thwarts chances for peace, and he used extremely sharp language in criticizing the Israeli government. Jerusalem released an angry response instead of turning the other cheek.

There are a number of behind-the-scenes observers who believe this is all being staged, an act designed to mollify the Palestinians. Before the summit, Abbas will lay down conditions that Israel will have great difficulty in meeting, that is, a settlement construction freeze and the release of “pre-Oslo” Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Mladenov’s harsh statements were designed to show the Palestinians that Russia is pro-Palestinian, and therefore they should transfer their negotiating eggs from the American basket to the Russians’ basket.

Sources involved in negotiations told Al-Monitor that the entire sequence of events has been meticulously planned by Putin and Netanyahu, but with different objectives.

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SPOILER ALERT: It ends with President Obama looking feckless once again.