Netanyahu Sees a Historic Moment in Annexation. But He Might Not Be Seeing the Risks.

One late night, while I sat with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the middle of negotiating what would become the Hebron protocol, he told me “I will do what Ben-Gurion did.” I knew he was a disciple of the “revisionist” movement, bitter enemies of David Ben-Gurion, so I said “you mean Menachem Begin.” And he shot back: “No, not Begin, Ben-Gurion—he did the big stuff.” Recently, as I wrestled to understand why Netanyahu seems so determined to press ahead with annexation of West Bank territories this July, I began to think again about that conversation. Netanyahu is a no-holds-barred politician, yet throughout his tenure as prime minister he has been risk-averse when it comes national security. Even as other world leaders decry the plan, however, Netanyahu seems determined to carry it out...

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