Jerusalem. The far-right coalition government in Israel’s history has been in talks for some time. Within days of taking office in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, the cabinet led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and their ultra-religious and nationalist coalition partners made it clear in which direction foreign and domestic policy could go in the upcoming legislature period. This not only causes concern among Palestinians, but also calls international allies like the United States to action.
After taking office, the new foreign minister of the far-right coalition, Eli Cohen, announced that he would not condemn Russia’s war of aggression like his predecessor Jair Lapid, but wanted to speak again with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
Israel’s previous government had taken a distant stance towards Moscow after the Russian invasion. Lapid, a former foreign minister and most recently acting prime minister of Israel, has not approved any arms deliveries to Ukraine, despite repeated calls from Kyiv. However, he sharply criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin and openly accused the invaders of war crimes. Cohen kept it open how the future relationship would be shaped in concrete terms. A new “responsible” line is still being worked out with a view to Russia’s war. Only one thing is certain: Israel will talk less about this publicly. However, the foreign minister assured the Likud party that aid to Ukraine would continue. The criticism came from a longtime Netanyahu ally in the United States, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. It was “disturbing” to remain silent about “Russia’s criminal actions,” Graham said on Twitter.
Another member of the new government also caused an uproar on Tuesday. Despite all the warnings, the far-right Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, visited the Muslim-run Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which is sacred to both Muslims and Jews.
Ben-Gvir has previously been convicted of racist hate speech and supporting Jewish terror and has recently appeared several times as a political arsonist. Now, his possession threatens to exacerbate tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry in Ramallah called the minister’s visit an “unprecedented provocation”.
The Islamist Hamas has already threatened serious escalations, and other Palestinian organizations in the Gaza Strip have even warned of a “religious war” in the region. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Jordan also disapproved of Ben-Gvir’s action. Former Prime Minister Lapid spoke of a “provocation that will lead to violence, put human lives in danger and cost human lives.”(jm/apa)