Dr Andreas Krieg
Netanyahu’s victory in the Israeli elections has taken many by surprise. It leaves many in the West and the Arab World in discomfort — thinking about the future of the peace process — particularly after Netanyahu’s most recent public rejection of the Two State Solution and anti-Arab rhetoric during campaigning. Despite the Israeli electorate’s obvious shift to the right — incited by fear, a toxic form of Jewish Nationalism and the perceived weakness and inability of centre-left parties — a right-wing coalition under the leadership of Netanyahu might be all but counterproductive to the Palestinian cause.
Netanyahu is the embodiment of an opportunistic politician willing to bend principles and values for the greater good not of his country but his self-interest. His shift towards the far right in recent years is one such opportunistic move winning him the support of a growing camp of religious fundamentalists, Jewish nationalist supremacists and moderate Israelis simply seeking a sense of physical security in face of the Islamist and Persian bogeyman created by the Netanyahu government.
While Netanyahu has certainly been opportunistic, one should not mistake his recent remarks about a State of Palestine and Palestinians as mere political rhetoric: Netanyahu’s new government will be the most radical right-wing government in the history of Israel, yet — a government that when looking at its members, will not support neither rhetorically nor actively, the international community’s consensus on the creation of a State of Palestine.
However, as much as Netanyahu and his coalition are trying to undermine the Two State Solution, time works against them. In the next decade, there will be more Arabs living between the Jordan Valley and the Mediterranean than Jews. Consequently a majority will live as second class citizens in a territory run by a minority — something that the international community is already reluctant to accept.
Since Netanyahu came to power in 2009 Israel has become increasingly isolated internationally. Netanyahu has ignored US and European efforts to revitalise the peace process, he continued building settlements out of spite, created new obstacles to bilateral negotiations, waged a ruthless war against Hamas in Gaza and created a domestic climate of segregation and discrimination. All this has made him highly unpopular with leaders in Washington and Europe; not to mention his standing in the Arab World.
In the West, Netanyahu has become a villain — an untrustworthy, short-sighted politician who in comparison to his counterparts in Ramallah appears to lack the willingness to compromise, cooperate and empathise.
Israel has been created by the international community and a solution for Palestine will have to come from the international community. Run by a racist, uncooperative and uncompromising government under the leadership of Netanyahu, Israel will be under more and more pressure by the international community when it comes to the question of Palestine. While the international community might have been forgiving dealing with Herzog or Livni, it will, also backed by a growing global public resentment towards Israeli policies, have little patience with Netanyahu.
As Israel will be further driven into the international offside, the Palestinian cause will receive ever more attention and support from policymakers and publics across the world — something that with time will destroy Israel’s carefully constructed narrative of victimhood and liberal
exceptionalism.
Dr Andreas Krieg is an Assistant Professor at the Defence Studies Department of King’s College London working at the Jooan Bin Jassim Joint Command and Staff College in Doha, Qatar.
