Daily Times

A daytime operation by Israeli troops killed 11 Palestinians, including a teenager and wounded at least 103 people in a raid on an occupied West Bank city, steadily worsening an already combustible situation. The violence comes at a critical juncture in ties between Israel and the Palestinians, with the new Israeli government led by ultranationalists pledging a hardline stance against Palestinian militants. Israel’s plans also include a further expansion of its settlements in the West Bank.

Thirty years after Oslo, Israel inaugurated its most far-right and religiously conservative government to date. The two-state solution, already a remote prospect, appears to be a thing of the past. It’s unlikely that there will be a radical departure from the status quo. In fact, the opening paragraph of the government’s guidelines document states that the “Jewish people have an exclusive and inalienable right to all parts of the Land of Israel”. This has long been the position of certain senior members of the government but has now become mainstream.

Belazel Smotrich, now an important figure within the Ministry of Defense with authority over policy related to Israeli settlements, has long called for territorial expansion and Palestinian Arab expulsion. A recent proposal by Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin to overhaul the justice system, if instituted, would include an override clause that allows the government to remove any and all checks on legislative action. This serves the interests of those who wish to retroactively legalise settlements previously illegal under Israel’s own law. Netanyahu’s ministerial appointments alone demonstrate that he has abandoned a previously cautious foreign policy approach and opted for a more aggressive one, if only for his own political survival.

Just recently, Israel’s far-right security minister stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque with a heavy security detail, a move that was intended to spark communal tensions. For Palestinians, Al-Aqsa remains their most powerful national symbol, making visits simply to assert Israeli sovereignty is a direct provocation. Vocal condemnation from its Arab neighbours has not reined in the more extreme impulses of the Israeli government so far. Netanyahu’s government is filled with sycophantic annexationists who do care much for regional normalisation, signalling serious trouble for Palestinians under their control. *