The Verity Courier
The New Israel
By Ron Estes
4 December 2022
Legislative
elections were held in Israel on 1 November this year to determine a
governing coalition in the 120 seat Israeli Parliament, the Knesset. Led
by the Likud Political Party of Benjamin Netanyahu, a right-wing bloc
won the majority of 64 Knesset seats, and will form the next government.
The Netanyahu led coalition has been described as the most right-wing
government in Israeli history.
Israeli
president, Isaac Herzog, has mandated Netanyahu to form the new
government which will take office on 19 December this year. Netanyahu is
now likely to lead an over-polarized country. Some of the principals in
the new coalition are considered extremists. For example, Itamar
Ben-Gvir, who will be appointed Public Security Minister, in charge of
the police, was convicted in 2007 of racist incitement against Arabs,
and support for terrorism. Aryeh Deri, aspiring Finance Minister, and
Ben-Gvir, have together been convicted 55 times, Ben-Gvir for
terror-related crimes, and Deri for tax evasion. Netanyahu himself is
currently being tried for bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
A
new Netanyahu right-wing government suggests certain changes in Israeli
policies. A more aggressive military posture toward Palestinians in the
West Bank is to be expected. In addition, changes in Israel’s
relationship with the United States could be introduced.
U.S.
policy toward Israel will likely be challenged by the new Netanyahu-led
government. When previously in power, Netanyahu has expressed
intentions to annex the West Bank Palestinian territory, now occupied by
Israel, and Netanyahu’s new coalition partners have also advocated
annexing parts of the West Bank.
The
Biden administration, which desires a resolution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and broader acceptance of Israel in the
Arab world, will likely find these primary objectives thwarted by such
annexation plans. Expressions of such Israeli policy intentions will
upset relations with the Arab world, and test the Biden administration’s
relations with Israel. On 29 November 2012, the "State of Palestine"
was officially recognized by the United Nations as a Non-Member Observer
State. The UN vote granting Palestine statehood was 138 to 9 with 41
abstentions. The Palestine State has borders and a government. The
Biden administration has warned Israel against trying to annex parts of
the West Bank, and it supports the creation of an independent free
Palestinian state sharing a border with Israel. The U.S. Ambassador to
Israel, Thomas Nides, said, “Our position is quite clear. We do not
support annexation and we will fight any attempt to do so.”
Quoting
the Wall Street Journal, “U.S. moves against Israel could cause
consternation from Republicans, whom Mr. Netanyahu courted during the
Obama presidency, and further erode the bipartisan nature of the
U.S.-Israel alliance.”
In
his past premierships, Netanyahu has at times angered U.S.
representatives. During a 2010 visit by then-Vice President Biden to
Israel, Netanyahu’s government announced expanding an Israeli settlement
in occupied East Jerusalem, angering the Obama administration. The U.
S. relationship with Israel hit a new low in 2015, when Netanyahu
addressed the U.S. Congress directly to campaign against efforts to
sign the JCPOA nuclear agreement with Iran.
Reportedly,
despite those differences, Netanyahu believes President Biden is a
strong supporter of Israel. The new Prime Minister Netanyahu may be
forced to test the level and dedication of that support in the very near
future.
Ron Estes served 25 years as an Operations Officer in the CIA Clandestine Service.
