That the change of guard in Israel and the rise of radical Zionists like Avigdor Lieberman to power is bad news for peace process cannot be overemphasised. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, himself renowned for absurdly unreasonable views, couldn’t have made a more disastrous choice when he picked up Lieberman as his foreign minister.

By doing so, the new Israeli leadership has made it starkly clear to the world community what direction the Jewish state will be taking from here. That it is a huge setback to the so-called peace process goes without saying. Not that Netanyahu’s predecessors were any more sincere in their engagement with the Palestinians. But at least they pretended to play the ball with the Palestinian leaders and the international community at large.

Netanyahu with his uncompromising allies and agenda and their unbridled contempt for the Palestinian people, their struggle for just rights are not just a threat to the peace process but a clear danger to peace and stability in the Middle East. As Saudi Arabia warned in an uncharacteristic call to Washington on Wednesday, the new Israeli government is a clear and present danger to the world peace and stability of the Middle East. The new government has already rejected all negotiations and agreements with the Palestinians, dissociating itself with the peace process and commitments of its predecessors. Also, it has decided to step up the building and expansion of illegal Jewish settlements on Palestinian lands all across the West Bank and is finalising the total Israelisation of the holy city of Jerusalem by demolishing old Arab buildings and homes. If anyone can stop all this and rein in Israel, it’s the United States, the Jewish state’s long time supporter and patron. As Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal has argued, it is time for “solid and firm international action, especially on the part of the United States,” to convince Israel that it cannot run amok destroying everything in its path. The rise of President Barack Obama, who has expressed his genuine sincerity and keenness to resolve the Palestine-Israel conflict, has given the international community a rare and historic opportunity to break this impossible knot of history and geography. For the first time, the world has in Obama a US leader who not only believes in what he says but also believes in steadfastly pursuing his dreams and convictions.

With a deceptively simple mantra, Yes We Can, the new US leader has set about changing America and the world. Let’s hope the Middle East will be part of this change. It would be an epic tragedy if this historic opportunity is squandered because of the continuing intransigence and selfishness of Israel’s politicians.