Will the new Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett be worse than Bibi? | Middle East News

The chances of a sharp dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians under the command of Benjamin Netanyahu were already bad as the prime minister of Israel. Yet the rise of Naftali Bennett, once his protégé, has given Palestinian intellectuals more reason to worry.

While most expect him to be as bad as Netanyahu, others say he would carry out his agenda to spread his illegal settlements even more intensely.

Some expect it to be covered by pressure from the Biden administration and be pragmatic.

A staunch supporter of Jewish settlements and the annexation of most of the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, Bennett also opposes a two-state solution to the conflict.

At first glance, there seems to be little difference between him and his predecessor. Both are opposed to any recovery in the peace process that could force the Palestinians to make room for their wishes.

Netanyahu, nicknamed “Bibi,” also planned with the Trump administration to assassinate East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. The United States relocated the embassy from Tel Aviv A city with holy sites of Islam, Judaism and Christianity.

But it could be more dangerous for Bennett to rise to the post of hardline and hyper-nationalist prime minister, said Mkhaimar Abusada, an associate professor and chair of the political science department at Al-Azhar University on the Gaza Strip.

“Netanyahu expanded the settlements, but also froze them in 2009 and 2010 after pressure [former US President Barack] Obama, ”Abusada said.

“The difference between Netanyahu and Bennett is that Netanyahu, as we have seen, can be denied under international pressure. He also seemed flexible in resolving the two states. Sometimes he said he was fine. Bennett has a more ideological and tough stance.”

‘Definitely worse than Netanyahu’

Bennett won his stripes as a politician with aggressive support illegal Israeli settlements. Suddenly stepping down from his post would anger far-right supporters in the country, some of whom he already describes as “traitors” for joining a coalition with centrists, leftists and Arabs.

Mustafa Barghouti, president of the Palestinian National Initiative political party, said he expects Bennett to be worse than Netanyahu from a Palestinian perspective.

“Bennett favored the gathering of Palestinians in areas A and B, which is only 38% of the West Bank, and added the remaining 62% to Area C,” Barghouti said, referring to the three divisions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. In the Oslo Accords signed in 1995.

“Continuing to make settlements in area C means killing the possibility of a two-state solution. It’s definitely worse than Netanyahu. “

Some, however, dare to expect that the multi-party and multi-ideological coalition led by Bennett will impose controls and balances on its policies.

Last week, Netanyahu defeated the Knesset in the Israeli parliament by a vote of confidence. But the coalition he has removed is seen as very fragile.

Formed by Bennett’s former Likud colleagues – Avigdor Lieberman and Gideon Saar – both are expected to join anti-Palestinian policies.

The centrist party Yesh Atid, the left-wing Meretz party and for the first time the United Arab List of Palestine (Ra’am) are also part of the hard-line coalition.

‘Strange government’

Yoel Guzansky is a senior researcher at the Institute for National Research (INSS) specializing in Gulf politics and security. He said there is a huge question about how long this coalition will last and what kind of political plans it proposes.

“What kind of consensus can this strange government take, that’s the main question,” Guzansky said. “They usually have the lowest common denominator that unites when you have different parties with different ideologies in a government. In this case, throwing Bibi out was a consensus. But Bennett has a lot of challenges.”

Guzansky has said he will face the new prime minister’s challenge dissolve the settlement of the Evyas advanced, south of Nablus in the West Bank.

“It was built according to the law of Israel, and it must be torn down. We’ll have to see what Bennett would do about it, “he said.” There’s also a Bedouin settlement in the Negev desert. If he could separate that, then he would have problems with his Arab allies. “

Guzansky said he believes Bennett can be pragmatic in tensions with the Palestinians.

Bennett, without hesitation, agrees the march of the Jewish nationalist flag Through Jerusalem. The Palestinians saw it as a serious provocation, especially since the clashes between Israel and Hamas had barely ended in the previous month.

But there has been no quarrel on the ground. In response to the march, however, Hamas floated flaming balloons to cities in southern Israel and Israel carried out airstrikes. But he did not lose his life.

Israeli politicians, from left to right: Benny Gantz, Yair Lapid, Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Lieberman [AFP]

‘Even stronger’

There are irreparable differences between the different members of the coalition. Arab members would have little influence on Israeli policies and no one else in the coalition is expected to emerge in the occupied territories for the benefit of the Palestinians.

Barghout considered the centrist or the hopes of the left to support the Palestinians for nothing. Last week Bennett recounted the moment he reaffirmed his vision for continuing to position himself in Area C.

“We didn’t hear anyone say that Meretz or the centrists didn’t agree. They were in the Knesset. That means only one thing – this government will continue with its policy of illegal settlements, perhaps even stronger. “

Bennett’s toughest enemy would be the Biden administration, which has already called for the freezing of illegal settlements. Soon the Palestinians will open a consulate in occupied East Jerusalem and urge Israel to return to the table for peace talks.

While some Palestinian thinkers are unwilling to surrender to Biden, others, such as Barghouti, fear that Bennett will ensure the U.S.’s absence from the Palestinian cause by secretly supporting the re-use of the Iran-US nuclear deal.

“The Iran deal will be to the detriment of the Palestinian problem,” Barghout said. “But we’re not going to be silent.”

Following last month’s riots, Palestinian resistance has picked up pace a new generation of entrepreneurs they seem to be making decisions to save their homes and the land of their ancestors as well.

Bibi or Bennett, the Palestinians say, will continue their resistance.