Netanyahu has traded diplomacy for force and faced defeat nonetheless

Benjamin Netanyahu was 39 years old when preparations were being made for the United Nations General Assembly in September 1989, an energetic diplomatic star who served as Israel's ambassador to the UN.

It was precisely on his home turf, just before the end of his tenure, when one of Israel's most severe diplomatic defeats occurred.

Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) leader Yasser Arafat was invited to speak at the General Assembly, which was supposed to convene in New York.

Arafat was then 20 years older than Netanyahu, more recognised than him on the international stage, and not necessarily in a positive way.

The First Intifada that began spontaneously 10 months earlier marked the PLO leader as the national leader of the Palestinians and a symbol of the Palestinian people's fate.

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