After a break in the opposition, Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power on Thursday by forming the most right-wing government in the history of Israel, an executive that already generates serious concerns. Winner of the legislative elections of November 1, Benjamin Netanyahu had presented his ministerial team to the deputies in the morning, before the celebration in the afternoon of a vote of confidence won by a majority of 63 elected officials out of 120 in Parliament and his execution of the oath.
Benjamin Netanyahu announced in particular the appointment of former Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen as head of Foreign Affairs. The day before he had indicated that Yoav Gallant, a former senior official considered close to the pro-colonization movement in the occupied West Bank, was going to get the Defense.
motley coalition
The government’s mission will be to “thwart Iran’s efforts to acquire a nuclear arsenal,” “ensure Israel’s military superiority in the region,” while “widening the circle of peace” with Arab countries, said Benjamin Netanyahu, who should convene to his first cabinet minister in Jerusalem on Thursday night.
Accused of corruption in several cases, the Likud leader (right) was ousted from power in June 2021 by a motley coalition before pledging a return to business by siding with ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties.
His coalition includes in particular Bezalel Smotrich’s “Religious Zionism” and Itamar Ben Gvir’s “Jewish Force”, known for its anti-Palestinian statements and its positions in favor of the annexation of part of the West Bank, and Avi Maoz’s “Noam”. , openly anti-Palestinian. -LGBTQ. Despite the presence of this party in government, MPs elected Amir Ohana as Speaker of Parliament, a first for an openly gay MP in this country.
Demonstrations outside Parliament
Hundreds of people, including several carrying the rainbow flag or showing sympathy for the Palestinians, demonstrated outside Parliament on Thursday against the new government. “This is the darkest, most racist, worst government we can imagine,” said Niv, a protester at the scene. For Amir Sasson, a 51-year-old vendor living in central Israel, “we must give the new government a chance to prove itself.” “It is true that there are very important issues, particularly in the field of internal security in Israel, which must be improved as soon as possible,” he told AFP.
In this new government, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir are respectively in charge of the settlements in the West Bank and the Israeli police, whose units also operate in this Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 by Israel. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara recently said she feared reforms that would reduce the power of judges and a “politicization of law enforcement” that would “deal a heavy blow to the most fundamental principles of the rule of law.”
And the army’s chief of staff, Aviv Kochavi, said he was concerned about the creation of a second minister’s post, that of Bezalel Smotrich, within Defense itself to oversee civilian management of the West Bank.
The meeting of a “political weakness” and a rising current
For many analysts, Benjamin Netanyahu multiplied the concessions to his partners in the hope of obtaining legal immunity or the cancellation of his corruption trial.
“This government is the addition of Netanyahu’s political weakness, given his age and judgment, and the fact that we have a new political family, linked to the revolutionary right, that we have never seen with this strength in Israel,” Denis Charbit , a professor of political science at Israel’s Open University, told AFP.
Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, who above all want to strengthen colonization in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory where more than 475,000 Jewish settlers already live, “have a very strong thirst for power and know that what they do not get from here is three months, six months , even two years, will not take place,” adds Denis Charbit.
The fear of a military escalation
After the last Hamas/Israel war in Gaza in May 2021 and the recent violence in the West Bank, the most serious since the end of the Second Intifada (2000 to 2005), fear of a military escalation with the Palestinians is growing. well present
“There are many red lines: Al-Aqsa, annexation [de la Cisjordanie]the status of Palestinian prisoners (in Israel)… If Ben Gvir, as a minister, goes to Al-Aqsa, it will be a big red line crossed and it will lead to an explosion,” Basem told AFP. Naim, a senior Hamas politician Itamar Ben Gvir has already in recent months visited the Esplanade of Mosques (Temple Mount for Jews), a holy site at the heart of Israeli-Palestinian tensions in East Jerusalem.
Under status quo Historically, non-Muslims can go there but not pray there, but a visit by a sitting Israeli minister to this site would be perceived as a provocation among Palestinians. “If the government acts irresponsibly, it could cause a security crisis,” said outgoing Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
Source: BFM TV
