I don’t know if it’s a good idea, there are certainly ways Israel can spin it (the illusion of Palestinian empowerment as a threat, or a counterpoint to arguments about Palestinian oppression). But maybe there would be benefits, in terms of publicity. It certainly wouldn’t change anything on the ground, and I lean towards the idea that it would help (as does the whole two-state framework) obfuscate the realities of the situation in a damaging way.

I’m trying to picture in my head how that would sounded. “We cannot allow war crimes, like the ones we did to Gaza and Lebanon, happen on our soil. But they aren’t war crimes when we do it to others, so the Goldstone report must be rejected!”

Ben Netanyahu is on CSPAN now speaking to the Jewish Federation of North America.
“Jews brought to the world 3 ideas: (1) monotheism, (2) all people have innate rights, and (3) a prophetic
notion of world peace.” Now, he’s reading out a list of very disproportionate Jewish contributions in the arts, technology, etc. Now, he’s reading out a list of how history
has tried to destroy the Jews. Now he’s saying the USA-Israeli alliance is a cornerstone
of Jewish security, supported by 2% of USA population. A small Israel demands a secure peace; peace with Israel’s arab neighbors is the way go; a start towards economic prosperity for all in the region has been made; no time to waste; his goal is not endless negotiations but to achieve peace with the Pals, and soon; to get to this, we have to stop negotiating about negotiations; we need a demilitaryized Pal state; his policy is always religious tolerance; a Jewish state means Pals must recognize that they cannot flood Israel with refugees and announce the conflict is over; it may take years for the spirit of this peace to be internalized by the Pals; Israel is powerful, but it is small, and regardless of boundaries, will remain small. Israel is only bigger than RI.
Not all small countries that are small are insecure, e.g., Belgium and Luxembourg–but they don’t face Israel’s security threats, e..g., the ship from Iran bound for Syria with weapons Israel just confiscated. Hezballah rockets can reach Israel, etc. He’s ready to make great concessions for peace, but will never risk Israel’s security. We can’t permit another Lebanon or Gaza “in the heart of our country.” The UN report on Gaza falsely accuses Israel of war crimes. Rejection of Goldstone Report sends message to all
Israel will defend itself and Obama is to be praised, as is US Congress, for condemning the Goldstone Report. Thanks also goes to Canada for supporting Israel’s self defense.
The recent US-Israel military exercise is to be praised. 1400 US military personnel participated.
Israel is not just talking peace; we’ve removed hundreds of roadblocks, checkpoints, loosened bureaucratic red tape for Pals to grow economically–they’re life is better these days, their businesses are booming–I will do more of the same to further Pal prosperity. But we must begin and complete peace negotiations; my regime has gone further than any past Israeli regime to make peace possible. We need a committed Pal partner to achieve peace, one willing to shoulder the risks as we have been. Another great challenge is to prevent the anti-semitic, terrorist regime of Iran (both domestically and internationally) from realizing its nuclear ambitions. The 3rd big challenge is how to reduce the world’s dependence on oil; can we dramatically reduce our oil dependence? Salt as preservation tool once once king, but science reduced its high stature. Israeli innovation is changing the world; Israel is the start up nation–
we lead the world in desalination and solar energy. These tasks are major, but Herzel
showed how a clear plan and sense of urgency can overcome a huge hurdle like the Jewish sense of powerlessness. “The tragedy of the Jewish people is that we don’t believe in ourselves,” Herzel said, but it can be done, is no dream–the hardest task is in the Jewish people’s reach. “We can steer humanity towards a better future for all.”

So in retrospect, it seems to me that the Palestinians seeking a one state solution is actually still better than this gambit.