any way you look at it, assuming you imagine peace between israel and palestine is desirable (and there are those who do not), this is a disaster.
Quote:
White House: Unclear how Israel elections will affect Mideast peace
By Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz Correspondent
Israeli elections signal a strong democracy but until a new prime minister is named, it is unclear what the results mean for peace in the Mideast, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Wednesday.
Gibbs added that U.S. President Barack Obama looks forward to working with the next prime minister of the U.S. ally.
A few thousand soldiers' votes remained uncounted following Tuesday's general Israeli elections. After 99% of the votes were tallied, the centrist party Kadima emerged in the lead, but only barely, with one Knesset seat more than the right-wing Likud Party, who won 27 out of 120 Knesset seats. Though Kadima won more seats, the right-wing bloc gained a substantial majority of the seats, leaving Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu in a better position than Kadima leader Tzipi Livni to recruit a 61-majority to form a stable coalition.
The results of the Israeli elections have been confusing for American officials, but the basic assessment is that regardless of who becomes the next prime minister, the shift to the right is clear, and there are no breakthroughs expected with the peace process. In fact, Iran, a Hamas sponsor, is considered to be a more promising track.
Gibbs stressed, however, that Obama remains committed to working with Israel and its new government.
Earlier Wednesday, Obama spoke to President Shimon Peres and congratulated him on the election process.
"This afternoon, President Obama spoke to President Peres of Israel to extend his congratulations to the Israeli people on their general elections yesterday," a statement from the office of the U.S. president said.
"The President remarked that the Israeli people should be very happy about the democratic example they have set for the world. They had a good discussion, and the President complimented President Peres on his recent op-ed in which he reaffirmed his strong commitment to achieving a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
Also on Wednesday, U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters that the U.S. was looking forward to working with whatever new government is formed in Israel.
At a Washington press conference, Wood said that the Obama administration will not speculate on what kind of government will be formed. Wood called Israel a thriving democracy and said the administration intends to pursue a robust agenda once the new Israeli leadership is established.
"The government needs to be formed. We will hold discussions with the government once it's in place. The important thing is we're looking forward to working with whoever heads it. It's up to the Israeli people, not the Israeli government, who will be in it," he said.
Referring to the possible inclusion of anti-Arab right wing Yisrael Beiteinu in the future coalition, Wood said "It's not for the U.S. to make this kind of characterization, it's the choice the Israeli people made. We have a robust agenda with Israeli government."
"We've been working over the years with governments in Israel on trying to bring about - trying to affect the peace process. And that's still going to be our goal," Wood went on to say.
Addressing the two-state solution backed by the U.S. in Middle East peace talks, the State Department spokesman said "certainly that's what we have been pursuing. And, you know, again, let's let a government be formed."
"We certainly hope that a new government will continue to pursue a path to peace," Wood said.
However, Wood said that the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, still intends to travel to Israel and elsewhere in the region in the near future. It will be his second visit to the region this month.
|
White House: Unclear how Israel elections will affect Mideast peace - Haaretz - Israel News
the reason it's such a disaster is the position that it puts the far right party yisrael beiteinu in as effectively a coalition-building necessity. so the prospect this raises is a netanyahu government formed with a party well to the right of likud that favors *both* increased immigration into israel and--as a necessary correlate of that--an
expansion of the settlements in the west bank.
here's a wikipedia summary of yisrael beiteinu's history and politics:
Yisrael Beiteinu - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
here's the platform from the party's official webpage:
Israel beytenu
there is no way---no way at all--that these people are going to allow any coherent movement toward peace in the region.
netanyahu has already rejected a power-sharing deal with kadima, arguing that his politics--which are already quite foul---are more "naturally" of a piece with the extreme right. so there's a period of jockeying under way at the moment. i do not see any good alternatives except for a quick collapse of this government and new elections.
what do you make of these results?