Harris allies point fingers at Biden for election defeat    Trump victory 'major setback' to climate action    Australia plans social media ban for under-16s    German coalition collapses after Scholz fires key minister    Liam Payne's body to be flown back to the UK    HRT does not impact life expectancy — UK health body    Neymar suffers muscle tear, out for 4-6 weeks    Suspect arrested for banking fraud totaling SR493 million as Nazaha pursues corruption charges    Arab leaders and heads of state congratulate US President-elect Donald Trump    Crown Prince, Pakistan Army Chief discuss ways to enhance military cooperation    Crown Prince aspires to strengthen strategic US-Saudi ties in call with Trump    Crown Prince hails Saudi medical team that performed world's first fully robotic heart transplant    Heavy Equipment and Truck Show to spotlight Tata Motors' cutting-edge mobility solutions    IKEA Alsulaiman opens Madinah store as part of an ambitious expansion plan in the Kingdom    Prince Badr signs MoUs with Al-Qasabi and Al-Falih to empower entrepreneurs and boost investments in cultural sector    Quality of life of Madinah residents and enriching visitor experience highlighted in Cairo event    Al Nassr secures 5-1 victory over Al Ain to edge closer to knockout stage    Top climber falls to death after rare Himalayan feat    Al Ahli extends perfect start with 5-1 victory over Al Shorta    Mitrovic's hat-trick leads Al Hilal to 3-0 victory over Esteghlal    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Muted Eid celebrations for millions of Nigerian Muslims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Israeli paralysis brings new opportunity for Arabs
James J. Zogby
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 22 - 02 - 2009

SOME elections serve as clarifying moments in a nation's history, others resolve little and serve only as a reflection of internal division. The former provide direction, the latter create paralysis.
The recently completed Israeli elections and ongoing deliberations over to the shape of the next government serve to demonstrate the profound divisions that exist in Israel and the dysfunctional state of its political system.
As is widely known, the current governing coalition lost its mandate. The lead party, Kadima led by Tzipi Livni, a centrist configuration (by Israeli calculations), was comprised of an amalgam of individuals spun-off from Likud and Labor. They declined from 29 to 28 seats. Kadima's coalition partner, Labor, dropped from 19 seats to 13. And Meretz, a more leftist party (not in the coalition but supportive of peace efforts), lost support, going from 5 to a mere 3 seats.
This gives the Zionist center-left a total of 44 seats – far short of the 61 needed to form a government. But this is only part of the story. Post-election analysis suggested that while Kadima was initially seen as Likud-lite (after all, its founder was Ariel Sharon), it was viewed by voters in this election as a horse of a different color. It is estimated that about 70% of the last-minute support garnered by Livni's grouping came from Labor and Meretz voters hoping to block a Netanyahu victory.
All this may be academic, but is still useful in order to understand the constraints that this will impose on Livni and the strong push that will be made to merge Kadima and Labor as an opposition bloc.
The right won, to be sure, but not without complications of their own. Netanyahu's Likud won 27 seats, with some of his party's most extreme members in leadership roles. Next in line was Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party with 15 seats. Lieberman, a former Likudnik, launched Yisrael Beiteinu to exploit the resentments of Israel's sizable Russian immigrant community. Shas, a religious party of Sephardic Jews garnered 11 seats, followed by a number of smaller groupings representing hard-line nationalist and religious parties which will hold a combined 12 seats.
The Arab parties and Hadash – a coalition of communists and Israeli-Arab leftist groups (the communists once serving as a substitute nationalist party for Israel's Arabs) garnered 11 seats. Israel's problem is both political and demographic. The “Jewish State” isn't just Jewish, nor is it in agreement on what it means to be Jewish, with deep divisions between the ultra-orthodox and the nationalists. And demographically speaking, with 20% Arabs, 20% Russians, and 20% Orthodox, you have the makings of a dysfunctional brew.
So Netanyahu won, but what exactly did he win? And how does he govern, given the difficult choices he must face in forming a coalition.
Since right-wing parties hold 65 seats, it might appear easy to cobble together a government of the like-minded. But the religious-secular divide is deep and, at times, ugly. The orthodox will make demands for special consideration by the state that Lieberman and other ultra-nationalists will reject.
At the same time, Netanyahu, though a hard-line nationalist, is a savvy (some say dissembling) political leader, keenly aware of Israel's international standing and image. He knows that the Obama Administration has committed itself, as George Mitchell has recently noted, not to a “process,” but to the realization of a two-state solution, and so will not countenance obstructionist behavior. Nor will the European Union. Netanyahu, therefore, might prefer a coalition with Yisrael Beiteinu and Kadima – choosing the latter for political cover in much the same manner that Ariel Sharon used Shimon Peres. Such a coalition would do little and be, itself, dysfunctional (though for different reasons) than the coalition of the right.
No matter how you add it up, the numbers aren't going to yield either a majority for a clear direction, or peace. All of this should move the Arabs to act. Instead of accepting this Israeli paralysis and dysfunctionality as a justification for their own, Arab leadership can seize the high ground and establish themselves as the partners for peace, pushing Israel and the US to make the next moves.
Given Mitchell's recent indication that the Obama Administration would, unlike its predecessor, work with a Palestinian government of national unity, efforts must be made to move in that direction. Hamas' leadership should be pressed (and shamed) into joining such a unity effort on its well-known terms – forswearing violence and accepting agreements already entered into by the Palestinian Authority.
Such an agreement would put Netanyahu on a difficult course with Washington over such issues as: ending the blockade of Gaza, stopping West Bank settlement expansion and land confiscations, and being asked to make the same commitments to honor past agreements and forswear violence, while entering into good-faith negotiations on “land for peace.”
Given Netanyahu's penchant for attempting to change the debate, as in the 90s he worked to shift the discussion from “land for peace” to “security and combating incitement.”
Now he intends to substitute “economic growth” for making peace. He will want to obfuscate and stall Mitchell's efforts – complaining of his own government's paralysis. And under cover of this obfuscation, he will continue to take unilateral measures that will solidify Israeli control over Palestinian lands and lives.
This is a moment Arabs can seize, and an opportunity to take control of the debate. This opportunity should not be missed. – SG
– James Zogby is president of the Arab


Clic here to read the story from its source.