IIsrael’s election results, with Benjamin Netanyahu’s victory, ended a series of four elections in three years in which neither camp for or against Netanyahu was able to win a clear victory. Now Netanyahu has succeeded in forging a right-wing government alliance, including with Ben Gvir’s racist Utsmah Yihudit party (FAZ, November 2). The left-wing Zionist Meretz party fell through the 3.5 percent hurdle, leaving it absent from the Knesset for the first time, while fragmentation of votes within Israel’s Palestinian citizenry continues. Instead of a common list, three different lists stood for election; two of them, Hadash and the Unity List associated with the Islamic movement, obtained the necessary number of votes, while Balad failed. Balad would have offered clear opposition to the current policy, since it wants to make Israel a state for all citizens.
The combination of Netanyahu as prime minister, who is threatened with court proceedings, and Ben Gvir is dangerous (FAZ from the day before yesterday). Especially since Netanyahu is obviously interested in getting through his criminal problems unscathed. The only way to do that is to weaken the judiciary by passing new laws that would give the Knesset veto power over the courts. This goal coincides with Ben Gvir’s intention to step up attacks on the Palestinians and enable the settler militias to take over more land, including through violence. The racist right has been on the rise in Israel for more than two decades. Since the collapse of the peace process in 2000, the outbreak of the second Intifada and 9/11, both the state and society in Israel have increasingly moved to the right, eliminating the possibility of ever reaching a compromise with the Palestinian people.
