Netanyahu’s Right-wing coalition will see peace process vanish from agenda

IN THE hours leading up to Wednesday’s midnight deadline, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented Israel with possibly the most Right-wing governing coalition of its history.

As its majority of only one vote will make it vulnerable to internal tensions and the interests of small parties, some Left-wingers hope that it will implode.

Tal Engelstein, an art student at the Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem, first reacted to the announcement of the coalition with “something between frustration, apathy and fear”.

While he is not surprised that the peace process has essentially vanished from the official agenda, he is worried the newly powerful Right-wing parties will imbue issues around human rights and the country’s religious character with a “kind of messianic goal”. Along with Israelis from across the political spectrum, he was disappointed by Mr Netanyahu’s surrender to the settler Jewish Home party, which required him to hand them the justice ministry.

The substantial influence of the West Bank settlers — whose building is considered illegal under international law — is expected to further deteriorate Israel’s relationship with the US.

Artiom Levinton, a tech employee, isn’t particularly worried, asserting that the US has no sway over the complex realities here: “Settlements are a fiction, because these are areas that belong to the state of Israel, whether you want to live there or don’t.”

Some analysts say Mr Netanyahu will need to incorporate the Left-wing Zionist Union Party to survive, but Abdullah al-Kurd, an Arab resident of East Jerusalem, agrees with those who predict that the coalition will dissolve first. But, he adds, “maybe not before they drag us into another Gaza war”.