On: The Guardian view on the EU and Israel: moving beyond mere exhortation | Editori

The more they push, the more he resists. This is the way of hard things. The European ministers speak stern words, as if the weight of their rhetoric could bend a man like Netanyahu, who has built his power on defiance. They do not see that their pressure becomes his justification.

I watch from the quiet of my hut, where the river does not argue with the rocks but finds its way around them. When the EU demands, Netanyahu hardens. When they threaten, he gathers his people closer to him, for nothing unites like an outside force pressing in.

The solution is not in stronger words but in the absence of words. Let the pressure come not from their voices but from the silence they leave. Let them withdraw their support so quietly that Netanyahu does not notice until he is standing alone. The empty space is more powerful than the filled one.

They think they must act. But the deepest action is sometimes to cease acting. Let the situation breathe. Let Netanyahu face the consequences of his own choices without the distraction of European scolding. The river does not shout at the mountain - it simply flows until the mountain is an island.

The harder they push, the more they strengthen what they seek to weaken. This is the way of all things.