The lawsuits against him and the dislike of those who had joined him just 18 months ago have been useless. Benjamin Netanyahu is repeating himself for the sixth time as head of a government that the fairest thing to say is that it will be the most right-wing in Israel’s history. In it, marked from the outset by obvious distrust, representatives of six parties will try to work together, which probably also reflect the tone of an electoral college that increasingly turns not only to right-wing positions, but also to sexist and racist ones. But Netanyahu, in yet another demonstration of his tactical acumen, hastens to counter this criticism by presenting himself as an advocate of moderation in order to prevent possible excesses by his partners and to keep the course within the parameters of democracy.
While we wait for the election proclamations to be translated into government decisions, we can already get a glimpse of the priorities of a cabinet that will feature Bezalel Smotrich, leader of far-right religious Zionism, as Minister of Economy (in the Home Office path). two years) and Itamar ben Gvir, leader of the equally extremist Jewish power, holds the National Security portfolio. After initially striving to increase its protections from impunity before the judiciary, what is looming on the immediate horizon points in two directions that could prove to be in conflict: the annexation of the West Bank and the normalization of relations with Saudi -Arabia.
The first is a good example of the decision to transfer administration of the West Bank to the new Ministry of National Security rather than to the civilian administration (an agency dependent on the Ministry of Defence). This means that in practice it is no longer considered occupied territory and is taking another step towards its final annexation without needing to be formally declared. In this way, at least the so-called Zone C (60% of its limited 5,600 square kilometers) is considered Israeli territory and continues on the path taken after the first war in 1948. The Palestinians can count on a viable state as far as their territorial continuity is concerned makes impossible.
As for the second, Netanyahu intends to continue on the path that Donald Trump opened for him with the Abraham Accords, seeking recognition from Arab countries, with Saudi Arabia as the main target. Given its leadership in Sunni Islam and its oil wealth, normalizing relations with Riyadh would be a very important asset for Israel, both security and business. And with that aim, a poisoned proposal to Mohamed Bin Salmán (MBS) is already on the horizon: the definitive non-annexation of the West Bank in exchange for the normalization of relations.
In this way, Netanyahu, confident in his genius, believes he will be able to control his own extremists and convince them that Riyadh is worth annexing, which is not necessary now anyway. He also thinks it’s an irresistible offer for an MBS to present itself as a hero who sacrifices himself to defend the Palestinians. But, unless MBS falls into the trap of personal desire, it is important to understand that a move of these dimensions does not guarantee that Israel will not pursue its claim to eliminate the Palestinian political dream at the same time as it would confronted of the internal discrepancies generated by his figure in the palace posed an enormous risk to his claims to the throne. What seems clearer is that none of them will be unduly concerned about the foreseeable outburst of Palestinian violence that annexation would provoke, or about international condemnation.
We are warned.
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Jesus A Nunez Villaverde – Co-Director of the Institute for Studies on Conflicts and Humanitarian Action (IECAH)
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