As part of the agreement, Netanyahu will serve as prime minister for another 18 months, after which, Gantz will supposedly take over. It will also allow him to pass legislation to annex large swaths of the West Bank from July 1.
The annexation of Palestinian land occupied in 1967 is illegal under international law, yet the reality is that the occupation of the West Bank has been de facto annexation. The Israeli regime is now looking to extend its sovereignty through de jure annexation which would put much of the West Bank under Israeli law, leaving only a few small pockets of densely populated Palestinian bantustans.
Many "Liberal" (as if it existed...) Zionists saw Gantz's Blue and White coalition as a viable alternative to the corrupt reign of Netanyahu, while many foreign diplomats hoped he would be a "partner for peace". This despite the fact that Gantz made it clear that he was going to pursue annexation throughout his election campaigns.
In response to the unity government's declared annexation position and Pompeo's comment, several EU member states warned and "strongly advised" against Israeli annexation of Palestinian land in the West Bank. Meanwhile, Jordan has also repeatedly stated that it "rejects" steps towards annexation.
These most recent condemnations follow a familiar pattern of weak statements being issued whenever the Israeli regime breaches international law, with no threat of repercussions. Indeed, committing war crimes is always an Israeli decision, and the response of the international community is always to ignore them.
The fact that Israeli political leaders across the political spectrum are pursuing annexation is hardly surprising. Expansionism into Palestinian land is the raison d'etre of the Israeli regime and has been since its foundation. Israeli settlement building has never ceased since 1948 when the ethnic cleansing of historic Palestine began. And it was a so-called left-wing Israeli government that spearheaded the settlement enterprise in the West Bank and Gaza following their occupation in 1967.
The Palestinian leadership reacted to these latest developments with more of the same fiery rhetoric and empty threats. Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas once again threatened to "completely cancel" agreements with Israel and the US if Israel proceeded with annexation and warned that Palestinians would "not stand hand-cuffed".
With the PA highly dependent on the international donor community and the Israeli government for its survival, it is unlikely it will ever be able to present a real challenge to annexation. Decades of capitulation discussions dressed up as "peace negotiations" have left Palestinians in this historically vulnerable situation.
Indeed, despite the PA president's bravado, Palestinians are already "hand-cuffed" and caged in an open-air prison where even Abbas himself has to request permission from the Israelis to leave Ramallah. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic has put Palestinians under lockdown, living in acute fear of infection and unable to put up a significant challenge to the Israeli takeover of their land.
This, however, does not mean the Palestinian people have given in. The struggle against the Israeli regime continues, as do attempts to hold it accountable and make it pay the economic and legal cost of oppression, through the BDS Movement and the International Criminal Court investigation into its war crimes.
This is all important but it is not enough. Now is the time for a refocusing of efforts and a change in political strategy. Palestinians have to clean up their own house and demand new representative and legitimate leadership which no longer bows down to an international community enabling Israeli expansionism. While elections are an important democratic practice, in the West Bank and Gaza they would only serve to prop up the current authorities.
What is required is a complete overhaul of the current political system which, for over the last two decades, has been focusing solely on keeping Palestinians subdued and contained. Such an overhaul requires a return to a revolutionary consensus achieved through plurality and reconciliation of political groups, geographic fragments, and collectives and a popular mobilisation around a political agenda of liberation. Only then will we stand a chance to stop the theft of Palestinian land.
But how is a deal that would grant Israel’s right-wing Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, a veto power over the very judicial system which will determine his fate, a form of democracy?
In January, Netanyahu was indicted on multiple counts of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. His trial is scheduled for May 24.
By making such an assertion, Gantz is simply deluding himself, following one the most disgraceful acts of political betrayal in the country’s modern history. By agreeing to join Netanyahu’s Likud party, Gantz has demolished his own parliamentary group which unified several major parties in one single bloc, all with the aim of removing Israel’s longest-serving leader from power.
The Blue and White, which until recently consisted of three parties (Hosen Li-Israel, Yesh Atid and Telem), presented itself to Israeli voters as a political force that would finally restore some credibility to Israel’s ailing political institutions.
Clearly, Israel was not ready for such a mission.
It is convenient to blame Gantz for the collapse of Israel’s once-burgeoning opposition, but the problem with Israel’s political elites is far more complex than that of a single individual.
Israeli leaders insist that democracy, transparency, and inclusion are achievable, even when millions of the country’s native Palestinians citizens - Christians and Muslins alike - are marginalized and continue to be victims of institutional racism that dates back to the very foundation of Israel.
In actuality, Gantz could have formed a government with the help of the Joint List, a coalition of native Palestinians and progressive parties, which is the only Israeli political bloc that represents hope for a better, more inclusive future.
The supposed Israeli ‘centrist’, however, opted to join Netanyahu – and to, consequently, alienate his own allies, Yesh Atid and Telem – than meet the reasonable conditions of the Joint List.
The Joint List, which had eventually endorsed Gantz to form a government, had merely requested the removal of the Nation-State Law (which defines Israel as a Jewish State), the Kaminitz Law (which restricts building in Arab communities in Israel) and ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine, in accordance with international law.
The native Palestinian parties’ demands were simply too much for Gantz to handle, for several reasons.
One, Gantz is essentially a right-wing politician and a military hawk, who favors the annexation of the occupied Palestinian territories and has called for even harsher wars on Gaza.
Two, the Blue and White would have never been able to build a wider coalition if it adhered to any of these demands. This much was made clear by the head of Yisrael Beiteinu leader, Avigdor Lieberman.
Three, Member of Knesset (Parliament) Zvi Hauser, one of the most influential figures of the Blue and White, is among the main forces behind the racist Nation State Law of July 2018. Expecting Hauser to cancel the jewel of his political achievements would be most unrealistic and would have further destabilized a party that has already lost nearly half of its supporters in a matter of days.
Hauser is an interesting character, an ambitious politician and a person to watch, as he will play an important future role in Israel’s coalition government.
Hauser will now become the “proverbial long arm of the Judicial Appointments Committee,” according to Yossi Verter, writing in Haaretz. This committee, in particular, was the main stumbling block in the difficult negotiations, which preceded the announcement of a government coalition deal between Gantz and Netanyahu.
According to the deal, Netanyahu can accept or reject any of Hauser’s future appointments. Hauser is unlikely to find Netanyahu’s interference unacceptable, simply because he is used to the idea of being Netanyahu’s point man.
Yes, indeed, Hauser entered public service in 1994 to serve as the Likud party’s spokesman under Netanyahu who, at the time, was the country’s opposition leader. In fact, Hauser’s political career throughout the years seems to be intrinsically linked to Netanyahu’s own.
And here, yet, is another common ground between the Likud and the Blue and White, which could make the planned annexation of parts of the occupied Palestinian West Bank and Jordan Valley very much possible.
The text of the coalition government agreement spoke of potential annexation of parts of the occupied territories as early as the summer, in accordance with the US President Donald Trump’s “Vision for Peace”.
This understanding was by no means a concession on the part of Gantz, who, too, supports some form of annexation.
That’s where Hauser’s role becomes vital once more, for it was Hauser himself who headed the ‘Coalition for the Israeli Golan’, which championed and promoted Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
Hauser’s wish received a huge boost in March 2019, when Trump signed the order recognizing the Golan Heights as Israeli.
Despite its difficult birth and the Blue and White setback, the Netanyahu-Gantz coalition has more in common than meets the eye:
For one, Gantz seems to have abandoned his strategy of getting rid of Netanyahu through the court system. With Hauser as a middle man, Netanyahu, at least for now, is somewhat safe.
Secondly, not only is the annexation of Palestinian territories (despite the illegality and strong Palestinian and international rejection to such a move, as I mentioned above) not a point of contention between the coalition partners, but a point of agreement as well.
Thirdly, with Gantz’s rejection of a coalition that includes the Joint List, and Netanyahu’s complete disregard for the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinians are entirely erased from the political map of Israel’s ruling elites. This is unlikely to change in the future as well.
There is one positive aspect in Israel’s unpromising government coalition, and that is clarity. Knowing of Netanyahu’s anti-Palestinian, anti-peace, and anti-international law long legacy, we should have all the clarity needed to understand that no just peace can possibly be achieved when Netanyahu is still at the helm.
The same can be said of Gantz as well, who preferred to willingly shake the hand of the devil than to find common ground among the leaders of Israel’s native Palestinian (Arab) community.
Even when Netanyahu’s eighteen-month term as Prime Minister expires, a Gantz-led Israeli government is unlikely to fare any better. They not only share the name Binyamin; Gantz is no better man than Netanyahu and has no better plans to do the right thing. He is as evil as the devil.
In January, Netanyahu was indicted on multiple counts of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. His trial is scheduled for May 24.
By making such an assertion, Gantz is simply deluding himself, following one the most disgraceful acts of political betrayal in the country’s modern history. By agreeing to join Netanyahu’s Likud party, Gantz has demolished his own parliamentary group which unified several major parties in one single bloc, all with the aim of removing Israel’s longest-serving leader from power.
The Blue and White, which until recently consisted of three parties (Hosen Li-Israel, Yesh Atid and Telem), presented itself to Israeli voters as a political force that would finally restore some credibility to Israel’s ailing political institutions.
Clearly, Israel was not ready for such a mission.
It is convenient to blame Gantz for the collapse of Israel’s once-burgeoning opposition, but the problem with Israel’s political elites is far more complex than that of a single individual.
Israeli leaders insist that democracy, transparency, and inclusion are achievable, even when millions of the country’s native Palestinians citizens - Christians and Muslins alike - are marginalized and continue to be victims of institutional racism that dates back to the very foundation of Israel.
In actuality, Gantz could have formed a government with the help of the Joint List, a coalition of native Palestinians and progressive parties, which is the only Israeli political bloc that represents hope for a better, more inclusive future.
The supposed Israeli ‘centrist’, however, opted to join Netanyahu – and to, consequently, alienate his own allies, Yesh Atid and Telem – than meet the reasonable conditions of the Joint List.
The Joint List, which had eventually endorsed Gantz to form a government, had merely requested the removal of the Nation-State Law (which defines Israel as a Jewish State), the Kaminitz Law (which restricts building in Arab communities in Israel) and ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine, in accordance with international law.
The native Palestinian parties’ demands were simply too much for Gantz to handle, for several reasons.
One, Gantz is essentially a right-wing politician and a military hawk, who favors the annexation of the occupied Palestinian territories and has called for even harsher wars on Gaza.
Two, the Blue and White would have never been able to build a wider coalition if it adhered to any of these demands. This much was made clear by the head of Yisrael Beiteinu leader, Avigdor Lieberman.
Three, Member of Knesset (Parliament) Zvi Hauser, one of the most influential figures of the Blue and White, is among the main forces behind the racist Nation State Law of July 2018. Expecting Hauser to cancel the jewel of his political achievements would be most unrealistic and would have further destabilized a party that has already lost nearly half of its supporters in a matter of days.
Hauser is an interesting character, an ambitious politician and a person to watch, as he will play an important future role in Israel’s coalition government.
Hauser will now become the “proverbial long arm of the Judicial Appointments Committee,” according to Yossi Verter, writing in Haaretz. This committee, in particular, was the main stumbling block in the difficult negotiations, which preceded the announcement of a government coalition deal between Gantz and Netanyahu.
According to the deal, Netanyahu can accept or reject any of Hauser’s future appointments. Hauser is unlikely to find Netanyahu’s interference unacceptable, simply because he is used to the idea of being Netanyahu’s point man.
Yes, indeed, Hauser entered public service in 1994 to serve as the Likud party’s spokesman under Netanyahu who, at the time, was the country’s opposition leader. In fact, Hauser’s political career throughout the years seems to be intrinsically linked to Netanyahu’s own.
And here, yet, is another common ground between the Likud and the Blue and White, which could make the planned annexation of parts of the occupied Palestinian West Bank and Jordan Valley very much possible.
The text of the coalition government agreement spoke of potential annexation of parts of the occupied territories as early as the summer, in accordance with the US President Donald Trump’s “Vision for Peace”.
This understanding was by no means a concession on the part of Gantz, who, too, supports some form of annexation.
That’s where Hauser’s role becomes vital once more, for it was Hauser himself who headed the ‘Coalition for the Israeli Golan’, which championed and promoted Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
Hauser’s wish received a huge boost in March 2019, when Trump signed the order recognizing the Golan Heights as Israeli.
Despite its difficult birth and the Blue and White setback, the Netanyahu-Gantz coalition has more in common than meets the eye:
For one, Gantz seems to have abandoned his strategy of getting rid of Netanyahu through the court system. With Hauser as a middle man, Netanyahu, at least for now, is somewhat safe.
Secondly, not only is the annexation of Palestinian territories (despite the illegality and strong Palestinian and international rejection to such a move, as I mentioned above) not a point of contention between the coalition partners, but a point of agreement as well.
Thirdly, with Gantz’s rejection of a coalition that includes the Joint List, and Netanyahu’s complete disregard for the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinians are entirely erased from the political map of Israel’s ruling elites. This is unlikely to change in the future as well.
There is one positive aspect in Israel’s unpromising government coalition, and that is clarity. Knowing of Netanyahu’s anti-Palestinian, anti-peace, and anti-international law long legacy, we should have all the clarity needed to understand that no just peace can possibly be achieved when Netanyahu is still at the helm.
The same can be said of Gantz as well, who preferred to willingly shake the hand of the devil than to find common ground among the leaders of Israel’s native Palestinian (Arab) community.
Even when Netanyahu’s eighteen-month term as Prime Minister expires, a Gantz-led Israeli government is unlikely to fare any better. They not only share the name Binyamin; Gantz is no better man than Netanyahu and has no better plans to do the right thing. He is as evil as the devil.
PALESTINA
Daily Life Under Occupation
BRASIL
Listening Post: Bolsonaro's denial
AOS FATOS:Declarações de Bolsonaro, checadas
The Intercept Brasil
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