FAZLI RUMI
COLOMBO : Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the last 12 years has dominated the Israeli politics for nearly two decades much of it as Prime Minister.
A Nationalist and a cunning operator,Netanyyahu has manipulated the Israeli political scene in such a way that he has ended up as the longest serving PM though he has failed to establish a stable ruling government or to get a clear majority to ride him to absolute power. In the past two years he has plunged the country into four election cycles.
A loose coalition of parties, headed by Centrist Leader Yair Lapid has agreed to form a government that would kick out the current ruling Likud party out of reign. The arrangement is that, Lapid will give way to former Netanyahu’s chief of staff, far right leader Naftali Bennett, to replace his former boss.
The role of Prime Minister is slated to be swapped in 2 years to Yair Lapid. Whether the government will last that long with a razer thin majority nobody knows. Netanyahu, a wily politician himself, will do all he can to prevent a new government from taking replacing him, and make a few last ditch efforts against his enemies to undermine a successful parliamentary vote. Whether this will succeed, though highly unlikely at the moment, yet to be seen.
One thing is very clear, everybody else in the Israeli politics, Netanyahu former allies and his die-hard foes, quite surprisingly the Arab party, who does not see eye to eye with Naftali, too support him to be the PM with the only motive of seeing the back of Netanyahu.
The new coalition, which will remove Netanyahu is made of strange partners. Former confidantes, Jewish religious nationalists, right wing secularists, remnants of left and even a conservative Israeli Arab party has banded together a loose coalition to look forward to work together putting their vast political differences aside. This shows how desperate the opposition is keen to get Netanyahu out of power.
Meanwhile the long time ruling PM is indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in 2019 and has been in a year long trial, and he is hell bent to be in power to prevent him to be prosecuted, sentenced and sent to Jail. Bennet, a champion of the settlers is even more radical than Netanyahu, and is a opponent of a two-state solution to Palestinian question. He has agreed to put his radical agenda in the back burner for the moment to work on a moderate agenda to concentrate on the economy of the country and development of Palestinian livelihood, than on settler issues and vexing statehood problem. The centrist peace camp, the Arabs, the genuine neofascists, will be all banding together and it will be very interesting to see how they will share the ministerships and rule with stability with a thin majority of a politically complicated situation as this. With Donald Trump out of power together with die=hard rightist Netanyahu, will give way to new signals from democrat Joe Biden who is an open proponent of a two-state solution to the Palestinian question
Expansion of Jewish settlements and solving vexed Palestinian issues may take less prominence in this government because no one see eye to eye with these issues. The only way the government can survive is to focus on corona virus problems, the economic development coming out of Gaza war.
A successful businessman and a technocrat Bennet may adjust to new environment and focus on development issues to keep together a government that will be tough to manage for the next four years. The Israelis are not interested in the peace process anyway, and Palestinian leadership is divided and corrupt, with militants taking over Gaza. As long as Palestinians are concerned , any government that has come to power has only made them to be crushed, and the difference is how much crushing they will have when a new government comes. With an Arab party in the coalition there can be some economic benefits the Arab Palestinian population may reap in this new government if it will survive the test of time.
Will the government fall and another election bring back Netanyahu back, or whether he will be found guilty and become a forever Pariah of the Israeli politics, is remain to be seen.( The writer is a senior lecturer at FRC)
