Netanyahu returns to post of Prime Minister of Israel
2022.12.29 08:24
Netanyahu returns to post of Prime Minister of Israel
Budrigannews.com – As his hard-right cabinet was sworn in on Thursday, Benjamin Netanyahu made promises to expand Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and implement other policies that were criticized at home and abroad, securing his comeback as Israeli prime minister.
Since his bloc of nationalist and religious parties secured a parliamentary majority in an election on Nov. 1, the 73-year-old veteran leader has sought to calm concerns about the future of civil rights and diplomacy. He is on trial for graft charges that he denies.
The Religious Zionism and Jewish Power parties, which oppose Palestinian statehood and whose leaders are both West Bank settlers, have lobbied against Israel’s justice system, Arab minority rights, and LGBT rights. His allies include these parties.
Netanyahu has stated time and time again that he will work for peace and tolerance. He told parliament that his top priority was “ending the Israeli-Arab conflict,” as well as stopping Iran’s nuclear program and expanding Israel’s military capabilities.
He was heckled by opponents who chanted, “Weak! Weak!”. After centrist parties boycotted him due to his legal woes, they claim, Netanyahu had to make costly deals to secure new partners.
Violence is on the rise and Jewish settlements are set to grow in the West Bank, which is one of the Palestinian territories where they hope to establish a state in the future, and Netanyahu’s lineup has dimmed an already grim outlook for the Palestinians.
In its guidelines for the government, Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party said that it would “promote and develop settlement” on lands that “the Jewish people has an exclusive and unassailable right” to.
The majority of world powers consider it illegal to build settlements on war-seized land.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, stated, “These guidelines constitute a dangerous escalation and will have repercussions for the region.”
As a result of Israeli forces’ repression of Palestinian unrest and militant attacks, this year has already seen some of the worst violence in the West Bank since 2015.
The new government has been criticized by Abbas, who stated that its “motto is extremism and apartheid.”
Similar sentiments can be found in Israel, where 21% of the population is Arab and frequently identifies with the Palestinians.
In the event that the conflict erupts once more, Palestinian economic growth—a more modest goal that Netanyahu supports—could also suffer.
“The political skyline impacts the economy and all signs let us know what is happening will be terrible,” Ibrahim Barham, a Palestinian financial specialist, told Reuters.
One of the Arab lawmakers, who will not be represented in the new cabinet, said that members of the coalition were “fascists” in parliamentary speeches before the swearing in.
Netanyahu, who is about to begin his sixth term, has stated that he will serve all Israelis. In addition, it appears that he did not pursue annexation of the West Bank, a policy that he had previously advocated and which would have pleased his settler base while putting Israel in conflict with Washington and Arab nations.
Netanyahu, who served as prime minister for a total of three years in the 1990s, from 2009 to 2021, has stated that he is looking for a breakthrough in the process of establishing diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia, just as he did in 2020 with other Gulf states that share Israel’s concerns about Iran.
Riyadh has maintained its position that Palestinian statehood was necessary for any progress with Israel.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, who was found guilty in 2007 of inciting Arabs to violence and supporting a Jewish militant group, was appointed as police minister by Netanyahu. Lawyer Ben-Gvir claims that his views have moderated.
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On Sunday, Isaac Herzog, Israel’s president, who primarily serves as a ceremonial figure, issued a warning against endangering the rights of individuals. Calls for altering Israel’s anti-discrimination law have been decried by businesses.
