You could almost hear the collective groan this past week when Knesset members advanced a bill to dissolve the parliament and initiate Israel’s fourth election in two years. The decision is only in its preliminary stages, and the key dispute that ostensibly caused it — the government’s internal wrangling over next year’s state budget — may yet be resolved. Nonetheless, the move is very telling of the deep dysfunction at the heart of Israeli politics.
Expectations were not high when Blue and White leader Benny Gantz broke his campaign promises — and his own party — by allying with Benjamin Netanyahu in March. Despite claiming he had no illusions about the prime minister, it is clear that the former army chief was out of his element: Netanyahu manipulated and bypassed Gantz at every turn, from pursuing the normalization agreements with the UAE and Bahrain to stalling the proceedings over his corruption charges. The man hailed as the harbinger of Netanyahu’s ouster instead became his rival’s accomplice.
As the country’s Jewish parties rush to realign their political partnerships, the Joint List, an alliance of Arab parties in Israel, finds itself in a severe crisis. The insistence of Mansour Abbas, who heads the Islamist Ra’am party, to cooperate with Netanyahu as a way of pursuing policy actions on behalf of Palestinian citizens, has riled the other factions. Lacking a coherent strategy and reeling from disputes on everything from LGBTQ rights to the recommendation of Gantz as prime minister, the once-inspiring political slate may be facing its demise.
Caught on the brink of another election, the political scene in Israel is now characterized by precariousness across the board. That, however, can hardly be said of the issue politicians ought to be most concerned about yet is completely absent from the current arguments: Israel’s control over all the land and people between the river and the sea.
For most Palestinians, the bickering in the halls of a parliament that they cannot vote for, yet which governs every aspect of their life, is irrelevant. For them, apartheid existed regardless of whether the Israeli government was left or right wing. Until outside pressure forces the Palestinians back onto the agendas of Israeli politicians, that unjust regime will continue to thrive, no matter who wins the next election.
(LINKS TO ARTICLES BELOW)
Why are Palestinians being forced to prove their humanity?
‘I can’t fall asleep’: The trauma of Israeli raids on Palestinian homes
How crime became a cover for Israel to control its Palestinian citizens
Biden warned of annexation 50 years ago. Will he finally stop it?
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