Benny Gantz is “bad,” but Netanyahu is “the worst,” says Ayman Odeh of the Palestinian Joint List in Israel. But Odeh told Time magazine that 10 Palestinian legislators endorsed Gantz because they want to stop Trump’s deal of the century and the annexation by Israel of West Bank lands.
Naim Mousa writes, “There are two candidates for prime minister, one incites violence against Arabs and constantly carries out racist policies, and the other does the exact same but is called Gantz.” Yet Palestinian voters have shown their growing power through the Joint List’s endorsement of Gantz to lead the government.
Devyn Springer reflects that as a Black person in the United States, Palestinian cynicism towards Israeli elections feels all too familiar. “So-called important national elections seem to always be at the expense of my community’s existing oppression,” Springer writes.
Gazans do not approve of Joint List leader Ayman Odeh’s endorsement of Benny Gantz in the Israeli election because Gantz led attacks on Gaza. No one here, says Ayman Moin, “can easily forget a beloved who has been killed, or jailed for years, nor a house demolished by the same perpetrator.”
In a surprising turn of events, Benjamin Netanyahu will be given yet another chance to hold onto his title as Prime Minister — a potential lifeline for the premiere who is facing an impending indictment on charges of corruption and bribery.
The current political paralysis in Israel should not be mistaken for an equal split between the center-left and the right, as the media would have its audiences believe. Rather, Israeli elections are a contest over which brand of Israeli ultra-nationalism will triumph.
Mondoweiss talks with Diana Buttu about the possibility of a Palestinian-led opposition in the Israeli Knesset, the Joint List’s endorsement of Benny Gantz, and the reception among Palestinians inside Israel of the recent election.
The recent Israeli election has been a win for the Zionist right-center. The Joint List which mostly represents Palestinians has endorsed Benny Gantz, but that stance divided the List. That’s understandable because a unity government headed by Gantz would back policies toward Palestinians that are not different from those of a Likud government.
Electoral politics, while a potential means for harm reduction, will not save Palestine.
Benjamin Netanyahu will continue as caretaker prime minister for several more weeks – until a new government is formed. If he stays true to form, there is plenty of mischief he can instigate in the meantime.