In these series of national elections, Israel has taken a major step toward religious Zionist violent fascism and exposed the bleak outlook for all Palestinians.
In this week’s Israeli elections, the fascist Religious Zionist Party and the right-wing coalition led by Benjamin Netanyahu have gained massively. Out of 120 seats in the Knesset, Netanyahu’s far-right bloc secured a 65-seat majority – if not tied with far-right politicians Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, forming an alliance that was an unlikely victory.
The results also show that there is a lack of Zionist national consensus to do justice to the Palestinian issue and resolve the complex trouble facing the Palestinians. In particular, Palestinian citizens of Israel face a demolition policy that could affect 60,000 homes.
They also continue to face organized crime that terrorizes their communities, the proliferation of Israeli weapons among this particular Palestinian society, threatening their individual and collective security, and the 2018 Jewish Nation-State Law, which curbs most acts of racism and discrimination in the legalization of Israel.
World Leaders’ Reaction
Last week, Israeli President Isaac Herzog met with US President Joe Biden in an effort to ease concerns expressed by the current US administration about Israel’s growing right-wing tendencies.
Members of Congress and other high-ranking US officials have also expressed concern about Netanyahu’s return to power and the rise of far-right forces. According to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a pro-Israel think tank, the UAE foreign minister briefed Israeli leaders on his position against religious Zionists entering the government and warned that the issue would affect the Abraham Accords.
The Religious Zionist Party has quickly become the third largest force in the Knesset, which will put Israel’s legitimacy to the global test. Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Netanyahu’s claim that all criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic will be further undermined by the rise of the far-right.
The election result will further strengthen the voices of the global Palestinian solidarity movement, which views Zionism as a form of racism and imperialism, and will generally strengthen the global Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
On the other hand, Netanyahu could find potential allies in the new European political environment, especially the recent emergence of far-right and fascist parties in Italy and earlier in Hungary and Austria.
This may now be true of Scandinavian countries as well, with the rise of their right-wing parties, such as the Sweden Democrats, which have gained political power over the war in Ukraine and anti-immigrant and refugee sentiment, as well as in the debate over winning NATO membership. In recent weeks, Jordan has also expressed concerns and worries about Israel’s growing shift to the right, both in its own government leaders and in meetings with Israeli Arab party leaders.
Jordanian leaders have also called on Arabs to vote in Israel to prevent a victory for Netanyahu, who is seeking to annex Area C in the West Bank, which naturally leads to the idea of an alternative Palestinian home in Jordan. Jordan is also concerned that the Zionist parties may now have the power to change the status quo in the Holy Land of Jerusalem, especially regarding the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jordanian governance of the mosque, which may certainly affect the Jordanian-Israeli Wadi Araba agreement.
