Innsbruck (OTS) – In just a hundred days, Israel’s prime minister has plunged his country into a deep crisis. At the same time, internal and external conflicts escalate.
In the Middle East, the setting of the Bible’s Easter narrative, violence overshadows the celebrations. Palestinian extremists fire rockets at Israel from Gaza and Lebanon; the Israeli Air Force responds with bombs. Things are also seething in East Jerusalem, in the occupied West Bank and in the settlement areas of the Arab minority in Israel. More than a hundred people lost their lives this year alone in the daily guerrilla war – more than ever before in the first few months of the year. Fear of a major war or a third intifada (Palestinian uprising) is rife.
The timing of the escalation is not unexpected. This year the Jewish Passover and the Muslim Ramadan coincide. Extremists on both sides routinely use the religious charge of these days for provocations. At its core, however, it is not about religion, but about a territorial conflict that has not been resolved for decades.
The right-wing religious government in Israel, which has been in office for 100 days today, has intensified the conflict. In this sit people who want to enforce the claim of the Jewish people to the entire biblical Israel, if necessary by force. There is no more room for the Palestinians. Israel’s new security minister, for example, has been convicted of hate speech in the past. And the new finance minister recently said that there is no such thing as a Palestinian.
At the same time, the government has unleashed the most severe domestic political turbulence since the founding of the state. Hundreds of thousands have been protesting against the planned judicial reform for weeks. You should u. disempower the supreme court; after that, the ultra-right and the ultra-religious in government would be free to rebuild society on their own terms. This puts a strain on the economy and important relationships with the USA and the Jewish diaspora. There is open resistance even from within the military and security apparatus.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is primarily responsible for this development. Accused of corruption, he desperately wanted to return to the top of the government. The only way to get there was through an alliance with radical forces that have guided him through the political arena ever since. Netanyahu had always marketed himself as a guarantor of security and stability. In the struggle for his personal future, he is now jeopardizing that of his country. Darker days may follow the overshadowed Easter celebrations.
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