Amongst all the COVID-19 commotion, other issues of increasing international relevance have arisen around the world that are no longer getting the attention they deserve.
In less than a year, Israel has held 3 separate elections hoping to instate a new prime minister and government party. The first election came in April of 2019, the second following in September. The third election vote took place on March 2nd and was yet again, inconclusive.
The Knesset is the legislative branch of the Israeli government that elects the president and prime minister, among other things. The two biggest players in these elections have remained consistent: Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz.
Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, having been there since 2009, after taking over the position when the previous prime minister, Ehud Olmert, resigned after being pressured through allegations of corruption.
Gantz served as Chief of General Staff in the Israel Defense Force (IDF) and was elected to be the Knesset speaker on March 26, 2020.
Under the Israeli political system, it is extremely difficult to win a majority rule of the 120 seats in the Knesset. This is what caused the inconclusive results of the both the election in April and then in September in 2019.
However, in November of 2019, Netanyahu was indicted on charges of corruption and bribery. So far, Netanyahu’s case has still not gone to court due to division amongst Israeli politicians to give Netanyahu the benefit of the doubt or proceed with legal action, though there is still a possibility for a trial in his future.
The third round of elections from March, have been deemed inconclusive yet again and the people of Israel, the Palestinians included, hang in limbo, curious to see what their administration will do. The people, like their politicians, are segregated based on where their support lies: the leftwing Blue and White, led by Gantz, or the right-wing Likud, led by Netanyahu.
The deciding vote seems to fall to the Joint List, which is a political alliance that is composed of Arab majority parties. They are the third-largest party in the Knesset and win the majority of the Arab vote in Israel.
Gantz had hopes to form a minority government: the Blue and White with the backing of the Joint List. This coalition would give Gantz one more seat in the Knesset than Netanyahu, with a total of 59. However, members of the Blue and White are skeptical of a minority government and are reluctant to rely on the Joint List for a majority, so the minority government was dismissed.
Ayman Odeh, the leader of the Joint List, has considered the options open to him and continues to wait for a better one. He claimis that there is no one to recommend to the president for the position of the prime minister. Odeh hopes that there will be a change amongst the political parties that will encourage towards peace and equality.
Netanyahu claims he won the third election with a landslide through strong support from the people of Israel. He said Erdoğan, the president of Turkey who is widely considered to be authoritarian and a dictator in everything but title, could learn something from Gantz’s tactics.
Nonetheless, the political unrest amongst Israelis has led to unrest amongst Palestinians as their future now hangs in the balance.
Netanyahu began his career against the formation of a Palestinian state, an idea which has gained and lost traction repeatedly over the years. However, before the previous Israeli prime minister elections in 2015, Netanyahu had pivoted and was in favor of helping to establish a Palestinian state but has, since the election, returned to his original point of view. His current stance is complete opposition to a Palestinian state and he has no intention to withdraw Israeli forces from the West Bank, a Palestinian territory, occupied by Israeli forces.
Gantz’s position offers no relief to Palestinians either, regardless of his opposition to Netanyahu. Despite his hope to form a minority government with backing from the Joint List, he favors a Jewish majority and unilateral annexation, meaning Palestinian territory would be seized and held by the state of Israel.
On Monday, April 20th, Netanyahu and Gantz signed a deal to form an emergency coalition, hoping to keep that dreaded fourth election at bay. This emergency government will stand for six months and will not determine any laws that are not related to the coronavirus.
One exception concerns Israel’s intentions for the annexation of Palestinian territory. Specifically, the annexation of the Jordan Valley, a territory in the West Bank and illegal Jewish settlements which defy the fourth Geneva convention, which prohibits the transfer of population to occupied territories to establish power and a claim on the territory.
A two-state solution has been on and off the table for decades, discussed by many presidents and prime ministers, but has been avoided by Netanyahu and Trump. Both have worked closely where the Israel-Palestinian conflict is considered.
In the past, the U.S. has offered support to both Israel and Palestine, not only through politics but also through funds. Since beginning his term in 2016, Trump has deeply rooted himself in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, making decisions that many would argue have not been for the better, such as moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Tel Aviv is the widely recognized capital of Israel because of its neutrality to the conflict, and Jerusalem is only recognized by a select few as the capital of Israel, the United States being the first and most notable nation to make the switch.
Actions such as this have been used by Israel to claim the holy city as the Jewish capital, with no claim for Christian and Muslim Palestinians and has caused further political segregation and hatred between the religious and racial groups of Israel.
Other moves have been made by the U.S. that show their continued to support to Israel and their continuously decreasing support for the Palestinians. This includes the removal of programs that offered money and training to Palestinian organizations, such as their police forces and their judiciary system. The U.S. government has also stated they would no longer follow the legal opinion that Jewish settlements defy international law, an opinion that has been supported by the U.S. State Department since 1978.
With this new emergency government in Israel, referred to as an “annexation government” by Aljazeera, there is a major loss of hope among Palestinians for future peace, equality and recognition.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, stated on Wednesday, April 22nd, that all agreements between Palestine and Israel and the U.S., would be considered as “completely cancelled” if territory in the West Bank were to be annexed. Abbas also told Palestine TV that Palestine “will not stand hand-cuffed if Israel announces the annexation of any part of our land,” and that the appropriate parties, specifically the United States and Israel, have been notified of this.
