Benjamin Netanyahu Had to Tell John Kerry “This is Not Vietnam”

The New Republic has
a longish piece on how John Kerry got the latest iteration of
the Israeli-Palestinian peace process restarted and how it fell
apart around him. It involved a lot of talking and self-importance
on all sides. The article includes a lot of reporting on the
details of conversations between John Kerry and Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abba,
and other Israeli and Palestinian officials. Among the reported
conversations is this one that started about Palestinian
incitement:

Kerry pressed on: “When I fought in Vietnam, I used to look at
the faces of the local population and the looks they gave us. I’ll
never forget it. It gave me clarity that we saw the situation in
completely different ways.”

“This isn’t Vietnam!” Netanyahu shouted. “No one understands
Israel but Israel.”

Kerry tried explaining himself again: “No one is saying it’s
Vietnam. But I’ve been coming here for thirty years, and I’m
telling you, what’s building up in the Palestinians has only gotten
worse. I’ve seen it. It doesn’t matter if it’s right or wrong; it
just is. It can’t be solved if you can’t see it how they see
it.”

Read the rest of the rather unsurprising way Kerry’s peace
process unfolded
here.