Netanyahu outfront on multiple sidelines

 

                                    

                                     Netanyahu outfront on multiple sidelines

                            How the economic stagnation reflects the political crisis

 

 

After the turmoils of the demonstrations collapsing the security establishment in the main streets of Israel, Netanyahu finally surrendered on March 2023, announcing a “suspension” of the overhaul of the justice system and of the Supreme Court until Jewish Easter, in order to avoid a civil war. But it’s not been a defeat for the government, as he left the bill on the table of the most urgent affairs, inviting the opposition to the dialogue for the necessary adjustments. The protests were triggered by the Minister of Defense, Gallant, that, in the general troubles devastating the country, has had the initiative to ask for a break. The rally that gathered hundred thousand people in front of the Knesset, in fact, paralysed Israel, showing up that perhaps a mere suspension is not enough to appease this citizens’ anger, in the suspect that Netanyahu is just taking time and “the magician” won’t give up. In addition to the focal point of checks and balances that risks to be altered, undermining the basis on which are founded all the contemporary democratic institutions, as demonstrated by detailed studies of many human rights activists, the Court played an essential role in legitimating the abuses against Palestinians. Thus, a profound shake up is occuring, cracking down the core essence of the liberal democratic values propagandized by the basic laws in Jerusalem.

This breakthrough was a result of a compromise with the far right parties and in particular between Netanyahu and its Minister of National Security Ben Gvir that appointed a ‘private militia’, a National Guard of Volounteers under his direction, declaring that he would renounce to oppose his veto to these reforms in exchange of this truce.

In the internal politics, Israel is currently facing two crisis: “the only democracy existing in the Middle East”, as often it’s defined, is threatened both by the government of far right parties and a drift that encompasses all its institutions, included the Supreme Court, other than an illegal military occupation.

Moreover, recently, the Knesset has approved the 2023-24 national budget and even more complicated resulted to be the relation of the Premier with the Minister of Finance, an extremist leader of the religeous zionism, Smotrich, that declared that doesnt’t exist no more something called “Palestininan people”. A lifeline for the premier  could come from Gantz and  Lapid, open to the dialogue and further agreements along with the Head of State Herzog in order to find creative solutions. The premier Netanyahu leads a government made by extreme ultranationalist and xenophobe parties that during last weeks have clearly threatened to give up the majority if the executive wouldn’t take a stronger position against Gaza. A clear warning for the premier, well aware that he should avoid a government crisis that would expose himself to the judiciary proceedings he would face. He needed, in fact, their votes in order to approve the National budget and only once approved, the government could be sure to survive without their help until 2025 spring.

The approval of the budget on Mai 24, which Prime Minister Netanyahu depicts as his government’s victory, comes after weeks of tense negotiations. The bill has been strongly criticised for jacking up the state’s spending in discretionary funds, including grants for the ultra-Orthodox Haredi community as well as for settlement projects in the occupied West Bank. Allocating funds to hardliner pro-settler parties risks to further exacerbate the situation in the Palestinian territories and a worsening of instability could also undermine several actions on Netanyahu’s international agenda such the ongoing normalisation process with Saudi Arabia.

Thus, it’s self-evident that Israel will no longer be able to rank itself among the world’s developed economies. The budget allocates a huge number of resources to yeshivas (religious schools), national-religious political organizations, and allies of Netanyahu. Israel marches towards economic stagnation. Without overhauling the ultra-orthodox education system, Israel’s GDP is shrinking by 5% in a decade and 10 by 2050. At the end of the resounding bickerings, the nearly NIS 998 billion ($270 billion) budget passed. The manner in which the budget was allocated shows how Netanyahu is totally dependent upon  Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party for his majority in the Knesset. This is the element tipping the balance and influencing the prime minister’s decision-making in matters of security, regional cooperation, and relations with the Palestinians.

In the meanwhile, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is registered an unprecedented rate of violence:  clashes grinding on between Israel and Gaza, where in Mai the IDF have killed Ali Hassan Ghali, leader of the rocket launcher force by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the second important militant group in Gaza, after Hamas, and considered responsible of many of the missilistic attacks that keep on hitting Israel in response of the fact that Israeli government has worsened the punishing measures against Palestinians and pushes for an expansion of settlements.. Egypt is mediating to guarantee a ceasefire among both parts and the Israeli Foreign Minister, Cohen, declared that he’s evaluating a Cairo proposal. The escalation is linked to the tensions provoked by the launch from the armed Palestinian fringes of hundreds of rockets against Israel, following to the death in jail of Khader Adnan, affiliated to the Islamic Jihad, in hunger strike by 87 days. In this occasion the Egypt intervention has been successful in order to get a temporary ceasefire.  

The urgence of a negotiation, also sponsored by Qatar and UN, is enforced by the fact that Palestinians are by now at the end of their tethering. Recently, Netanyahu, backed by the US, talked twice with Saudi Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman. US efforts to facilitate normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia are occurring, in fact, against the backdrop of Israel fundamentalist government that are making all their efforts to permanently annex the West Bank. The Crown Prince has laid out several deliverables he needs before Saudi Arabia would consider normalisation: a US security guarantee, access to US weapons systems and assistance with a Saudi civilian nuclear program. Riyadh affirmed that normalisation won’t happen unless Israel commits to establishing a Palestinian state with a capital in East Jerusalem.

Kamla Harris, in occasion of the 75th anniversary of Israel’s foundation, which was hosted by the Israeli Embassy in Washington, said that, under President  Biden, USA will continue to stand for the values that have been the bedrock of the US-Israel relationship, which include the strengthening of their democracies, as they are both built on strong institutions, checks and balances and an independent judiciary. Cohen replied that he has great respect for Harris, but the judicial reform is an “internal Israeli issue that is in its negotiation stage and the State of Israel will continue to be democratic and liberal, as it has always been”. In her speech, Harris also referred to the Biden administration’s recently unveiled strategy to combat anti-Semitism.

As far as is concerned, instead, the relations between Iran and Netanyahu, this last has recently proclaimed to be “committed to acting against Iranian nuclear program, against missile attacks and what we call a multiform campaign”.

After this summary description of the internal and international panorama involving Israel and in addition to that, comes up to the eyes the exponential increasing of rallies of pacific movements, among which can be remembered the Pride Parade in Tel Aviv, that this year  remarks in a slogan in Kaplan st. ”there is no pride in dictatorship”, reminding everyone that the rights of the gay community and equal rights for all are in danger.

In conclusion, Jerusalem keeps on being engaged in several struggles into multiple frontlines and it’s field of catastrophic events that undermine the stability of a democracy that strives for its own stability and have yet to choose if opting out for the implementation of the liberal values, strengthened over the years by the alliance with the western countries and made it member of many international organizations, or sacrificing them to the personal interests of the prime minister and the government currently in power. It’s been highlighted how the economic crisis is nothing but a reflection of the institutional and political ones in the rejection of the two State solution so much backed by UN and US It’s hoped that, at the end of the ongoing round of talks held by many moderate countries (a remarkable step towards dialogue between Jewishs and Arabs was already reached in the past 2020 by the Abraham Accords between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain) would be possible for all sitting around the tables in order to jet down a new agreement satisfying the two conflicting parts, beyond the nationalistic prides and stances, to preserve democracy, and to persevere in the strengthening of the peace process in the region for the safety and wellbeing of these populations, tormented by decades by the apartheid, on one side, and terroristic attacks, on the other one.