Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government has wasted no time in implementing its ultra-nationalist agenda, adding the passage of a petty ban on flying the Palestinian flag and shaking the foundations of Israeli democracy with a proposal for judicial aggression opposed to the Supreme Court.
After just two weeks in power, the toughest and most powerful government in Israel’s history is already fomenting internal divisions and heading toward clashes with Palestinians and Israel’s allies abroad.
“We are waiting, and I think the citizens of Israel are already feeling it,” Netanyahu told lawmakers from his Likud party on Monday. “We have formed another government, with other policies, and we are handling things differently. “
Just days after taking office, his national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, stopped at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site: a hilltop compound respected by Jews and Muslims alike. While Ben-Gvir complied with existing rules prohibiting Jewish prayer at the site, the scale was perceived by many as a provocation given his calls beyond giving Jewish worshippers greater access. It has provoked Palestinian condemnation and angry statements from the US. The US and Israel’s own Arab allies.
Netanyahu has also focused on Palestinian leaders identified around the world in the occupied West Bank. The government has responded with a series of punitive measures.
Some of the measures have hit Palestinians hard, such as withholding some $40 million in tax revenue and using the cash instead to compensate Israeli victims of Palestinian violence. There are also plans to halt the progression in Palestinian villages in Israeli-controlled parts of the West Bank. .
Other measures have been more symbolic, such as revoking VIP privileges for senior Palestinian officials and banning the display of Palestinian flags inside Israel. Over the weekend, the Israeli government even disrupted an assembly of Palestinian parents discussing their children’s school situation in East Jerusalem. Israel claimed the assembly funded through the Palestinian Authority but provided no supporting evidence.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh on Monday accused Israel of “overthrowing the authority and pushing it to the limit, financially and institutionally. “
At home, Netanyahu and his allies unveiled a sweeping plan to reform the country’s judicial formula. The central proposal would give parliament the power to overturn Supreme Court decisions by majority. Critics say it would destroy Israel’s democratic formula of checks and balances.
Thousands of Israelis joined a protest over the weekend against the proposed legal reform, with former Chief Justice Aharon Barak warning that the plan would turn Israel into a “hollow democracy. “Benny Gantz, a former defense minister who now sits in opposition, warned Monday that Netanyahu is pushing the country toward “civil war. “
Netanyahu’s policy is not surprising. After 4 inconclusive elections in just 3 years, Netanyahu managed to win a fifth of the vote by partnering with a diversity of far-right and ultra-Orthodox partners.
“We have won a transparent mandate from the public to deliver on what we promised in the election. That is what we will do,” Netanyahu said at Monday’s factional meeting.
The coalition is ruled by hardliners who hate Palestinians, oppose the concept of peace talks and reject the status quo of an independent Palestinian state. Ben-Gvir, for example, is a supporter of a deceased radical rabbi who advocated mass expulsions of Palestinians from the country.
Convicted more than a decade ago of domestic incitement and terrorism, Ben-Gvir is now a senior cabinet minister who oversees the national police. His partner, the hardliner Bezalel Smotrich, is a deal leader who has been tasked with building deals in the West Bank.
Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, was willing to cede authority to his associates because they express animosity toward a legal formula they consider elitist and hostile. It is widely believed that the legal review, led by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a close confidant of Netanyahu, will ultimately lead to the removal of the fees opposed to the prime minister.
“This is the maximum excessive rule Israel has ever had,” said Nadav Eyal, an Israeli commentator and of “Revolt,” an e-book about the rise of populism and nationalism around the world. “What we’re seeing right now is a manifestation of their views, and they’re necessarily doing what they promised. “
“To a large extent, the foreign network and many Israelis have not understood that they intend to put much of their portfolio into effect, and they have nothing to counter them politically,” he added.
Nahum Barnea, a veteran columnist for the Yediot Ahronot daily, said Netanyahu appears to be “testing the waters” by allowing his partners to announce their difficult policies while seeking to deflect foreign criticism.
But he added that Netanyahu would find it difficult to control his coalition partners “because he has no partners for more moderate politics. “
He said Netanyahu had no interest in fighting with the Biden administration. “But Netanyahu is not a dictator. You will have to pay attention to those very loud voices.
Levin said last week that his plans to weaken the Supreme Court are a first step in action. Government rules call for a greater settlement structure in the West Bank, the legalization of dozens of illegally built outposts and, eventually, the total annexation of the territory. .
Such proposals will almost secure a deal with the US. The U. S. , the Palestinians, and the foreign community at large. The West Bank is already in the midst of its deadliest outbreak of violence in just about two decades.
So far, Biden’s administration has issued a series of cautious statements underscoring deep ties with Israel and reiterating America’s commitment to a two-state solution.
The tone may sharpen when senior officials, adding National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in the coming weeks.
Israel’s new Arab allies in the Persian Gulf, namely the United Arab Emirates, can also play a key role. The 2020 Abraham Accords between Israel and 4 Arab countries are among Netanyahu’s proudest achievements, and he said he hopes to raise Saudi Arabia’s regional heavyweight. to the list
UAE slammed Ben-Gvir’s move to Jerusalem holy site and, according to Israeli media, delays Netanyahu’s plan for Array
But any damage to relationships of minor importance. The UAE will host Arab, Israeli and American diplomats this week ahead of a primary regional summit scheduled for this spring.
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