The real roadmap for regional peace

The coalition government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on the brink of collapse last week, when former Israeli minister of defence Avigdor Lieberman abruptly decided to resign from Netanyahu's government over differences on Israel's response to Hamas in Gaza.

Lieberman wanted a more aggressive Israeli response to Hamas and voted against the ceasefire with Hamas that was brokered by Egypt, calling it a capitulation to Hamas. Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and Minister of Education Naftali Bennett saved the day for Netanyahu when they decided, against earlier expectations, to stay the course with the Israeli prime minister by calling off their resignation threat.

Still, the coalition government of Netanyahu remains shaky and ready to collapse at the first sign of tension between the coalition partners in the government. Netanyahu had argued against considerable odds from hardliners in his Cabinet that the overall security situation of Israel demands the acceptance of the truce with Hamas. Other Israeli politicians joined Netanyahu's justifications for accepting the ceasefire with Hamas by arguing that the continuation of the military standoff with Hamas in Gaza would lead to creation of another Hizbollah-sized force along the country's southern border.

It must have dawned on Netanyahu that Hamas is growing to be a formidable foe along his country's southern border after noting that it now has the capability of launching hundreds of sophisticated long-range missiles against his country. With Hizbollah's military might growing by the day on Israel's northern border, Israel now fears that it is being outflanked by Hamas and Hizbollah.

The military situation facing Israel is now changing, as it can no longer withstand a joint military action by Hizbollah and Hamas. It is now possible that Israel's military arrogance is being put to the test and, for the first time in its history, no longer has the might to destroy its enemies and must seek political accommodation with the Arab side. Such a scenario would be the real roadmap for peace in the region.