Israel withholds Palestinian tax funds from the PA so as to enforce its collective punishment of the families of militants. Now Defense Minister Benny Gantz is seeking to “loan” the P.A. that money in line with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s promise to Joe Biden to improve Palestinian conditions.
As of yesterday, Benjamin Netanyahu is officially a loser. He lost four elections in a row, and failed to form a government – the one time he managed it, a year ago, he did so on Benny Gantz’s mandate. That, however, does not mean Yair Lapid, who received the mandate to try to form a government yesterday from Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, will do any better.
Polls showed that Netanyahu would win a fourth election in Israel, and the deal he cut for a unity government with Benny Gantz reflects his strength. Fewer than a third of Israeli voters believe Netanyahu will respect his rotation agreement with Gantz.
Blatant racism by three Israeli pols, including one allied with the leftwing party Meretz, has stymied the effort to knock Netanyahu out of the premiereship. Sadly, American liberal Zionists are too busy pushing a “progressive” slate to the World Zionist Congress to denounce the racism among their allies. magine if a Democratic Party politician refused to work with black leaders?
“There is no life, no existence for the Israel left and even center without the partnership with the Israeli Arabs” — a J Street expert interprets the rise of the Palestinian Joint List as the only real resistance to Netanyahu’s racebaiting.
One of the top 10 leaders of Benny Gantz’s Blue White party, the supposedly centrist opposition to Netanyahu’s Likud, shared his racist views towards Arabs in an interview with Haaretz.