With the upcoming of the Israeli election, Netanyahu’s electoral alliance, Likud-Beiteinu, with ultra-nationalist former foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman is expected to be the party with many seats in parliament. In Jerusalem, Likud supporters are already posting banners announcing Netanyahu to be the only protector of the town. He is actually already making statements on Channel 2 television that he will not accept the international demands of the construction of a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 Green line and will certainly not accept its capital to be East Jerusalem. He said it is inconceivable to have “Hamas 400 meters from my home”. Once final results will be announced, the new prime Minister will have to start negotiations to form the next coalition government since he needs 60 MPs. According to Efraim Inbar of the Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies, the formation of a “large coalition” will prevent “the possibility of one party blackmailing him.” Since it is believed that the more parties are involved the more “they neutralize each other.” Allowing Netanyahu to succeed into keeping the promises he made in the interview.
In addition analysts are expecting the Jewish Home party to also be invited in the formation of this coalition government because a fight amongst them in parliament will be irrelevant knowing that even this ultra-nationalist party led by Naftali Bennett is expected to win many seats in the 120 seat parliament. Thus, the upcoming Knesset, Israeli Parliament will have a strengthening of the hard right according to estimations. However, there is also the surprising fact that the Israeli usual left party, Labour, has now become the political center and its leader Shelly Yachimovich who has refused to incorporate the Israeli-Palestinian issue in their policies has publicly refused the idea of joining Nenayahu’s coalition.
Israel: the pre-elections atmosphere
