Will Netanyahu's departure help relations with the Palestinians?

The Palestinians themselves don't think so.

It's probable but not yet certain that Israel's longest serving and most violent leader will be sent out of power. His corruption and decrease in popularity means that there is a big tent coalition of parties set to remove Bibi from office. This is a good thing.

The coalition in question though even has some parties who are to the right of Netanyahu and whose main problems with him is that he hasn't built enough settlements on Palestian land or bombed enough buildings.

Even the centre and centre-left of Israeli politics is Zionist and hawkish. The institutions of the country, from the courts to the IDF, are geared towards driving Palestinians from their land and further entrenching the military occupation. 'End of a dark era and the beginning of a new dark era,' is how one Palestinian put it. The problems are systemic and change needs to come from outside by stopping arms sales to Israel and forcing the state to comply with international law.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/04/palestinians-welcome-end-of-netanyahu-era-but-fear-more-of-the-same

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LeopoldBloom · M

Bennett is even more conservative than Netanyahu, although he's a secularist, so the Haredi community may lose some of their special status. They view the inclusion of Ra'am as a betrayal. It's a nutty coalition; if we had something similar in the U.S., it would be like a coalition between Bernie Sanders, Josh Hawley, Ilhan Omar, and Ted Cruz, with Matt Gaetz serving as president for two years followed by Joe Biden, and AOC and Marjorie Taylor Greene getting cabinet positions. The only thing uniting these parties is the desire to get rid of Netanyahu, so once he's gone the incentive to work together will be gone, too.

Bennett is also opposed to the two-state solution, which isn't a bad thing as a separate, viable Palestinian state has been unworkable for a long time now. The annexation of the West Bank in the long run will benefit the Palestinians, as any disparate treatment would clearly be apartheid if they were part of Israel. Under the current system, they're under military occupation, so the legal definition of "apartheid" doesn't apply even if they are living under what amounts to de facto apartheid.

Annexation would increase international pressure on Israel to give Palestinians in the West Bank equal status and representation in the Knesset, as Arab Israelis have right now. This is why only a minority of Israeli Jews support annexation. Bennett's party has only 6 seats in the Knesset. The equivalent in the U.S. would be the Constitution Party and Don Blankenship being elevated to the presidency. The Constitution Party is extreme right-wing, way to the right of the Republicans.

I know you're not in the US, but I'm not familiar enough with UK politics to give examples from there, so feel free to ask for an explanation if you don't know who these people are.

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@LeopoldBloom I know who most of those people are. Jeremy Corbyn and Jacob Reece Mogg in coalition with David Cameron and Tony Blair...

I get that the two state solution is tough, given the settlements and road blocks but I can only see annesation making things worse.

Bennet's stated policy is to push Palestinians into urban enclaves only. This is arguably what Likud has been doing anyway but Bennett is saying the quiet bit out loud.

A one state solution might be the most viable option but you would have to give palestians voting rights and real legal equality. I don't see that happening.

Northwest · M

@LeopoldBloom [quote]The only thing uniting these parties is the desire to get rid of Netanyahu, so once he's gone the incentive to work together will be gone, too.
[/quote]

Until he's serving time in jail, Netanyahu remains a threat. An upset stomach might be all it takes for 1 or 2 Knesset members from the coalition to change their minds, and the government will collapse, giving Netanyahu another shot.

Bennett moved ahead of time, and secured Benny Gantz's agreement not to respond to orders from Netanyahu to start a military action against Iran, to try to abort the new government.

LeopoldBloom · M

@Burnley123 A sovereign nation of "West Bank" would not be economically viable, although there's more support for that than there is for a one-state solution. President Rivlin's proposal of a federation of self-governing cantons currently has around 15% support among Israelis.

LeopoldBloom · M

@Northwest I agree, the coalition has a one-seat majority, and once Netanyahu is out, there's nothing else holding it together. This may be why Bennett insisted on serving first as there's no guarantee that the coalition will still be around in two years.