AP Photo

With President Obama running for re-election, the two leaders were probably fated to soon find themselves in a showdown in any case. A reelected Obama will probably return to his pet issue, Palestinian independence, and apply stronger pressure on Netanyahu to curb settlement expansion. But in the absence of assurances from Washington, Netanyahu will be tempted to act upon his "second Holocaust" warnings and attack Iran unilaterally, without American consent. His bolstered domestic political leverage has only made that prospect seem more attractive.