The message from Israeli election results
When counting was over for 90 per cent of votes in Israeli parliament election, the major takeaway as popular will through record polling is a strong anger against the regime of Benjamin Netanyahu. The very fact that over 70 candidates elected to the 120-member parliament are on the anti-Netanyahu camp, is enough to prove how unacceptable he is inside Israel. When his Likud party's tally was reduced to 53 seats, the front led by Gadi Eisenkot won 48 seats and Arab parties made a historic surge winning 19 seats. No party has been able to touch the magic number required for an absolute majority. For that very reason, it is still uncertain whether the Opposition can make the defeat of Netanyahu complete. And whether the Opposition would be ready to set aside the political slogans of division for a new alliance with Arab parties or will keep Israel in the extreme racist hate will determine the future of West Asia including Israel.
Arab parties have made their most shining gains in Israel's history. A people marginalised through repression, has become a crucial bloc for deciding the fate of the Knesset. And Zionist politics is baffled and unable to decipher the intrinsic strength of that change. The statements of Likud party well reflect this flumoxing. Its statement demanding, which demands no Zionist party should co-operate with Ra'am or the Joint Arab List or form a government that will spell risks for Israel, well reflects the racist hatred through remarks that Arab parties 'stole' the election and the they are trying to Islamise Israel under foreign influence. Extreme rightist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir even asked intelligence agency Shin Bet to arrest Arab party leaders and individuals with links to the Muslim Brotherhood. Although Israeli police has made it clear that there is no evidence ratifying these allegations, Central Election Commission chief Noam Solberg has given directions to inquire about suspicions about foreign financial aid and election fraud. Following this, a few Ra'am workers were taken into illegal custody too. Eisenkot who welcomed the inquiry, at the same time alleged that this is a ploy of Netanyahu to influence the date of swearing-in by postponing it. It is the right-wing parties themselves who express the concern that the uncertainty of election results will lead the country to internal fissures and political anarchy.
In short, the results of Israeli election prove that the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and the following war have caused deep fissures in Israeli society, and also a big chasm in Zionist politics. The antecedents of Eisenkot's make it clear that his positions are not markedly different from that of Netanyahu. Eisenkot is not one who would grant freedom to the people of Gaza or end the ruthless settlements of West Bank. That is why in the run-up to the poll, he declared that no one should come forward with a two-nation formula or Palestinian independence. But the very prospect of a merciless leader who, driven by nepotistic interests and lust for power, rained misery on Gaza, being ousted from power, becomes a source of hope for those who yearn for justice in the world.
Among the graft cases against Netanyahu, at least two are likely to end in conviction. That is expected to happen if a government comes to power with the outside support of Arab parties. Thus, this election of Israel is making not only Netanyahu but also Donald Trump nervous. The opportunistic, fickle positions and gamble of Trump in the battle field of West Asia make matters further complicated. The unconditional support to Netanyahu and the threats of attack against Iran are part of the efforts to rescue him politically. And the changes in a range of officials in the Pentagon together with the directives to the allies in the Gulf region serve to thicken the air of the region with war clouds. How the power games of Netanyahu and Trump shape up after the election Israel and the US will determine how the paths of peace will be determined in West and the world at large.