Ex-NATO chief calls Netanyahu ‘worst politician’ in Israel’s history

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) – Former NATO chief Javier Solana said on Monday that he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the “worst politician” in Israeli history.

“I don’t think anything good will come of this,” he told Spanish broadcaster Cadena Ser, referring to this month’s events in Israel and Palestine. “But it could make Netanyahu disappear from Israeli politics.”

Not mincing words, Solana, 81, also emphasized that despite US support for Israel, President Joe Biden “doesn’t like Netanyahu at all, just like anyone who has been involved in this war for a long time.”

“The two of them are not friends, but they aren’t enemies. Biden never received Netanyahu in the White House,” the former diplomat added.

He said that Biden has been working hard to pressure Netanyahu not to repeat the same mistakes that the US did in Iraq after the 9/11 attack.

Solana was NATO secretary general from 1995 to 1999 as well as the EU’s chief diplomat from 1999 to 2009.

He further said that he spent “a lot of time in Gaza” during his career, including negotiating for the EU to supervise the Rafah border crossing from Gaza into Egypt to keep it opening. That program began in 2005 and lasted 19 months.

He also called the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, “a huge mistake,” saying they subverted the previous idea of having countries recognize Israel via peace negotiations with Palestine.

“I think the idea of peace to recognition or recognition for peace was a very beautiful idea,” he said.

Referring to the context before the Hamas attack, Solana also criticized Netanyahu for “undertaking a tremendous campaign to turn himself into an autocrat” through judicial reform.

Promoting his new memoir, Witness of an uncertain time, Solana also shared his reflections on today’s broader geopolitical situation.

“This moment in time is marked by two major characteristics: First, that the world is no longer just the big powers. Second, the majority of the world’s peoples are not in the West. In the West, we still believe we own the world, but clearly, that’s not the case.”