A senior Israeli politician tells Fox News that Israel is currently in the midst of its worst international crisis since the creation of the Jewish state. The politician, who asked not to be named in order to speak more candidly, added that for the first time Israel's legitimacy is being questioned by many in the international community.
The official believes the lack of a viable peace process, combined with last week's Gaza-bound flotilla incident, which killed nine, has brought Israel to this situation.
The Israeli public doesn't understand the severity of the situation, according to the politician. The official believes that Israelis should not react in a nationalistic way to recent events, because it is only weakening the Jewish state in this process.
"It was easier to deal with the fallout from the 1,000 Palestinian deaths [during last year's Gaza war] than the nine activists who died on board the ship," the official said.
The official said that during the previous government, under Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Israel fought two wars--including one that cost 1,000 Palestinian lives--but didn't expose itself to such international isolation, because the Olmert administration made "sincere efforts with the Palestinians," the politician said.
The official supports the Gaza blockade, but said Israel should not prevent Gazans from receiving any food items.
When asked what the White House should do to advance the peace process, the senior political figure said the Obama administration should voice its support for Israel's security and call both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House to find out "not only what the deal breakers are, but who the deal makers are" for a future Palestinian state.
The official added that while Iran may be the most serious threat to the state of Israel, relations with America are just as important--a dynamic that many ordinary Israelis are not fully aware of.
