Israeli president Isaac Herzog is concerned about an imminent societal and political explosion following direct confrontations between the opposing political groups.
Israeli legislators were urged to “cool the temperature” by Israeli President Isaac Herzog. The Isaac Herzog’s comment is made amid combative discussions between the center-left alternatives and the new extremist nationalist coalition administration.
After serving as PM for over a decade, Benjamin Netanyahu is back in office and will remain so for four years. He is the leader of a coalition that won handily in the November elections and is made up of his ultra-right and religious traditional parties in addition to his conservative Likud faction.
Isaac Herzog took to twitter to express his concerns. In part of a tweet, he said, “This is a sensitive and explosive time in Israeli public life…I appeal to you, elected representatives and citizens from across the public and political spectrum: Exercise restraint and act responsibly.”
Israeli president also asserted that Israel “need to calm things down and lower the temperature.” Netanyahu’s involvement of the Jewish Power and Religious Zionism groups has alarmed many both at inside and outside.
One of the causes of the concerns is that the leadership of the groups have advocated annexing the territories that the Palestinians want for a state and have previously agitated against Israel’s legal system. Their conducts and strategies on the Arab groups inside Israel and LGBT groups has fueled the tensions.
Herzog remarked immediately after Zvika Fogel of Jewish Power, a parliamentarian, claimed that the four most important opposition figures at the time were the most hazardous. He used former premier and centrist politician Yair Lapid as an example.
Herzog Concerns; Where it Started
In a television interview, Fogel claimed that they are advocating for war. “I would give them full permission to protest if they were asking for protests, but they are speaking as though I am the enemy; they are speaking as though war is imminent.”
For Fogel, that is betrayal against the nation, and certainly, that is a crime punishable by jail. Israeli police claimed to have detained a driver for threatening a crowd of protesters, which Lapid described as party sympathizers.
Lapid replied on Twitter by saying the government’s provocation will result in violence. He later tweeted in response to Fogel’s comments: “This is how democracy implodes.”
Former minister of defense and prominent opposition leader Benny Gantz advised Bibi to curb his far-right alliance colleagues. Gantz urged the audience to condemn the assault on the protesters and the harsh remarks and act to heal the nation’s gaps, not to exacerbate them.
Later, Netanyahu seemed to take issue with Fogel’s comments and criticize opposition attacks on the incoming administration. Bibi, though, went no farther than saying that it was immoral in a democracy to demonise one’s opponents.
Since its formation, Netanyahu’s government has faces incessant challenges in controlling the political atmosphere of the country. The new Prime Minister seems incapable in controlling his coalition colleagues, given the fact that any division inside the cabinet may lead to early downfall.
On the other side, Bibi’s compromise on his colleagues” extremist ideas and conducts, like Ben Gvir‘s recent visit to the Al-Aqsa Complex, may lead to further escalations in the occupied territories. Besides, inside Israeli regions, Netanyahu will have a difficult time thwarting the political and societal challenges.
