Arguably, no other Israeli politician has ever played up the issue of security to frighten voters as effectively as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Literally, Netanyahu has subordinated every key national matter to his conception of security. Once he secured the premiership in 1996, he pulled out of his hat the rabbit of reciprocity. He made it perfectly clear that for Palestinians to receive their lands, they were to provide Israel with security. Not surprisingly, Netanyahu and like-minded Israeli politicians have used security as a pretext for not withdrawing from the West Bank.
And yet, judging from his record, it is safe to argue that Netanyahu has achieved neither security nor peace. The last week’s attack on the Jerusalem synagogue should set off alarm bells in Israel. Netanyahu’s approach of denying the Palestinians their right to live in a state of their own has not brought the Israelis any security. To avoid a political backlash in the wake of the attack on Jerusalem, Netanyahu called on the opposition leaders to join his government. This new gambit has two objectives. First, Netanyahu seeks to draw in the ultra-Orthodox to join his government in spite of the objection of both Yair Lapid and Lieberman. Second, by focusing on the need to have a national unity government, Netanyahu hopes to distract the public from the issue of the deteriorating security. If the opposition turns down the offer, Netanyahu in this case could pass the buck to the opposition.
It sounds that Netanyahu is not going to get what he wants this time. About half an hour after he called on the opposition to join his government, Isaac Herzog — chairman of the Labor Party and the leader of the opposition — turned down Netanyahu’s request. “Labor will not be part of a government whose policies fail to provide the Israeli public with security and hope,” he said. Of course, it is far better for the opposition leaders to go to the polls when they are not part of the government.
Last week, many Israeli observers argued that early elections were possible and that Netanyahu was thinking seriously of early elections. It seems that things have shifted a bit since last week. The rising tension in Jerusalem and the pre-Intifada atmosphere have put off the discussion on early elections. Although all polls show that Netanyahu is most likely to win, his right-wing constituency is not happy with the events in Jerusalem. Netanyahu has been courting this constituency by supporting the Jewish nation-state bill. But conducting early elections amid this atmosphere may hurt Netanyahu especially if violence continues.In fact, other players are concerned about how Netanyahu has been steering Israel’s relations with the Palestinians. His provocative policies in Jerusalem and his unwillingness to reign in the radicals who entered Al-Aqsa Mosque have led to this round of violence. Not a while ago, John Kerry and King Abdallah of Jordan met Netanyahu in Amman to convince him not to provoke the Palestinians for fear of another Intifada. Speaking about his meeting with Kerry and King Abdallah, Netanyahu said, “Together, we called for cooler heads to prevail so we could restore calm, but unfortunately, the Palestinian Authority’s answer came in the form of a day of rage in Jerusalem, and the result is right here before us.”
We have seen this movie before. Netanyahu is making the same mistake over and over again. His provocative policies have driven the Palestinians to the edge. The outcome will always be the same: Violence. Unless Netanyahu changes course, he should expect the same violent outcome. Seen in this way, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that Netanyahu’s current policies can hardly be the answer for Israel’s mounting challenges. Neither Netanyahu nor his party can take the unavoidable step of ending the occupation. Without such a step, it is unlikely that the holy land will witness peace or security. All of his gambits can buy him time but will bring neither peace nor security.
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