Nonetheless, the political context weighs heavily. The Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas, severely weakened, speaks of “massacre”, and a call for a general strike has been launched in the West Bank.
[Early Friday, Reuters reports that Israeli jets struck Gaza in retaliation for two rockets fired by Palestinian militants.]
Ideological coaltion
Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government, installed in power for more than a month, has chosen a particularly tough direction vis-à-vis Palestinians. That is the ideology of the parties that make up the coalition, some of which support the annexation of the Palestinian territories, are in favor of unlimited settlement development and are openly racist.
The international community doesn't know how to respond do the new political realities in Israel.
The obvious risk is that it will trigger the radicalization of more Palestinian youth who will not be offered any prospective, individual or collective. We have thus seen new armed groups develop, not necessarily affiliated to the historical organizations, and determined to fight, despite a balance of power disproportionately favorable to Israel.
The Palestinian Authority has denounced the silence of the international community, which clearly doesn't know how to respond to the new political realities in Israel.
There is however an opposition movement growing in the streets of Israel. Every Saturday, since the return of Netanyahu, considerable crowds reunite in Tel Aviv and elsewhere to show disapproval of the current government. The more than 150,000 demonstrators who showed up last week is a notable turnout.
Luxury of democracy
Still, only a small minority of protesters actually include the plight of the Palestinians in their demands. In order to maintain a broad front, the demonstrators focused their energies on the threats to Israeli democracy, proposed reforms to the Supreme Court, the ultimate check on power.
The demise of the political left took care of the rest.
The vast majority of Israelis, whether they be for or against Netanyahu, has all but ignored the situation on the Palestinian side. This has been the case for years, by now. The failure of the 1993 Oslo Accords distracted Israelis from the subject of peace with their neighbors and the occupation. The demise of the political left took care of the rest.
As a result, the government deals with the question of Palestine with force and the perpetuation of the occupation, without any concern for possible reactions of the Israeli population. The debate about erosion of democracy is a political luxury, reserved for Israelis.
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