It was extremely painful to listen to Netanyahu's speech to Congress on Tuesday and see how U.S. representatives and senators eagerly cheered the Israeli prime minister's defiance and political arrogance. His categorical refusal to deal with the Palestinians now that Fatah and Hamas have united is reckless at best. Yes, Hamas is a radical organization that uses violence to achieve its ends, but it does play a critical role in Palestinian society, at times providing better social and economic services than the moderate Fatah. I certainly don't condone Hamas' tactics, but they must be engaged like any other political force and maybe their inclusion in the negotiation process will force them to make compromises. That's how the PLO was brought to the negotiating table. But Netanyahu is not interested in peace as much as he's bent on finding hurdles not to negotiate with Palestinians. This is not the right time to be defiant on this issue, now that the Arab world is erupting from the bottom up. Netanyahu could have extended a peaceful hand but unfortunately chose not to. He came to Washington to flex Israel's muscles in complete disregard of the fate of Palestinians and the hopes of peace for his own people. Both Fatah/Hamas and the Israelis must understand that peace in their land requires fresh thinking much like millions of Arabs have taken to the streets to tell their leaders they must part with their old ways or leave. There was no vision for peace in Netanyahu's declarations and I wonder how he plans to break the stalemate in the negotiation process. This conflict has been bloody enough on both sides and nobody should cheer an official who is clearly fanning the flames of tension and perpetual discord. This is typical of Bibi.

Congress sent the worst message to Palestinians and Arabs at this important historical juncture as they looked in awe of Netanyahu, honoring his speech with 30 standing ovations, a reception the prime minister couldn't dream of back home. The more he insisted on Jerusalem never again falling in the hands of Palestinians, the more applause he got. The applause became even more rapturous when Netanyahu used biblical names (Judea and Samaria) to refer to the West Bank. Jews are not foreign occupiers of Judea and Samaria, he said. Are these words part of the "painful concessions" Israel is willing to make? And how could there be any peace if Netanyahu still thinks that the West Bank is part of Israel? How could there be any hope for peace with no compromise on Jerusalem. Everyone knows Palestinians cannot consider any deals that do not include concessions on Jerusalem. As Carlo Strenger said on Haaretz today, "Netanyahu's win is Israel's loss". Israelis cannot afford more isolation when Palestinians force a vote at the UN in September to welcome an independent and sovereign Palestinian state with the 1967 borders, including the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Germany, France and Britain all agree negotiation should be based on 1967 borders with equivalent land swaps. The vote could indeed go through. As Israeli former prime minister and current defense minister Ehud Barak said, "It [the UN vote] is a very dangerous situation, one that requires action...Paralysis, rhetoric, inaction will deepen the isolation of Israel.”And rhetoric is the only thing Netanyahu delivered in Washington.