Israeli PM’s tack to the right in final days leaves US ‘deeply concerned’ and peace process in limbo
TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strong showing in national elections this week has come with a price: he has managed to antagonize friends and foes alike with hard-line rhetoric on the campaign trail.
While the tough talk gave Netanyahu a last-minute boost in the polls, the Israeli leader could now face a difficult task convincing an already sceptical world that he is serious about reaching peace with his Arab neighbours — particularly if, as expected, he forms a new government comprised of religious and nationalistic parties.
Trailing in the polls, he tacked to the right in the final days of campaigning. He vowed to increase settlement construction in east Jerusalem, the Palestinians’ would-be capital, and rejected the idea of a Palestinian state in current conditions — putting him at odds with US and European positions and reversing his own policy of the past six years.
In a last-ditch attempt to spur his supporters to the polls, he warned that Arab citizens were voting “in droves” and endangering years of rule by his Likud Party. The comments drew accusations of racism from Israeli-Arabs and the White House.
In Washington, the Obama administration said yesterday that it was “deeply concerned” by the divisive language used by the Likud. White House spokesman Josh Earnest also said the US would have to rethink the best way to bring about a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — a cornerstone of US Mideast policy for years — after Netanyahu rejected the idea.
“Based on those comments, the US will evaluate our position going forward,” Earnest told reporters travelling aboard Air Force One.
State Department spokesman Jen Psaki said Secretary of State John Kerry had called Netanyahu to congratulate him. She refused to describe the conversation as “warm” or friendly.
Controversy pays off
Netanyahu’s controversial stance appears to have paid off at home. Thought to be in danger of being voted out of office just a few days ago, the Likud emerged as the largest party in Parliament when near-final results trickled in yesterday, leaving it in position to lead the next coalition government. But the comments may have reinforced a belief in many world capitals that Netanyahu isn’t serious about peace.
Dore Gold, a confidant and unofficial adviser to Netanyahu, said he was confident the prime minister could repair the relationship with the US, Israel’s closest and most important ally.
“The US and Israel have had very sharp disagreements in the past about different aspects of Mideast policy but have usually been able to overcome the differences,” Gold said. “I suspect that is exactly what is going to happen this time as well.”
Gold declined to speculate on what Netanyahu might do, saying only that he is a masterful diplomat who knows “exactly how to address the US-Israel relationship in a positive way.”
Elliot Abrams, a former adviser on Mideast policy to President George W. Bush, dismissed Netanyahu’s campaign tactics as “hot rhetoric.”
“I’m not sure they give us much insight into how he’s going to govern,” said Abrams, a senior fellow at Washington’s Council on Foreign Relations.
Likud led the election, capturing 30 seats in the 120-member Parliament, according to near-final results.
Netanyahu is expected to cobble together a majority coalition in the coming weeks made up of religious and nationalist parties that generally oppose concessions toward the Palestinians, and a new centrist party whose agenda is focused almost entirely on domestic economic matters. The Palestinian issue is not expected to be high on the agenda.
Cabinet minister Yuval Steinitz, a close ally of Netanyahu’s, said withdrawing from captured land to make way for a Palestinian state “is not relevant” in the current climate. He said Israel believes any land it relinquishes to the Palestinians will fall into the hands of hostile militant groups like Hamas or the Islamic State.
“Even though I understand the urge for peace now, we can’t ignore the reality in the Middle East,” he told Channel 10 TV. The only alternative, he said, is to “secure ourselves and preserve the status quo because we do not have a real partner for peace.”
Benefit of the doubt
For now, the United States and the European Union appear set to give the next Israeli government the benefit of the doubt. The EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said in a statement that the 28-nation bloc was “committed to working with the incoming Israeli government on a mutually beneficial relationship as well as on the re-launch of the peace process.” It remains unclear, however, how long the world will wait.
German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schafer said his government took Netanyahu’s comments on Palestinian independence “very seriously.”
“We assume and hope that the current Israeli government’s declared aim remains, which is to enter into talks with the Palestinians about a negotiated two-state solution at the end of which there will be a Palestinian state,” he said.
An EU diplomat in Brussels said officials considered Netanyahu’s rhetoric a “fundamental breach of the two-state solution.” He said if Israel sticks to that policy, the EU will use its “leverage.”
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, refused to elaborate. But European officials in the past have discussed various potential measures, starting with the labelling of products made in West Bank settlements.
At home, meanwhile, Netanyahu risks facing a backlash from Israel’s own Arab citizens, who make up about 20 percent of the population. Netanyahu’s doomsday warnings about high Arab voter turnout prompted angry allegations of racism.
Following the election, Netanyahu appeared to be trying to soothe tensions. Yesterday, he visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City and vowed to “do anything in my power to ensure the well-being and security of all the citizens of Israel.”
But Aida Tuma-Suleiman, an Arab lawmaker, said the country’s Arab citizens would not forget so easily.
“Yesterday Netanyahu divided the citizens of Israel. It is them and us, the Jews against the Arabs,” she told Channel 10 TV. “I won’t let that go quietly. It is dangerous. If someone in France or England or Belgium would say, ‘Go out and vote because the Jewish Belgians are voting,’ what would have happened?”
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