The
latest news from Israel is that
Netanyahu will form the government with
Yisrael Beiteinu. Bibi decided not to include certain parties in his coalition; he will likely only be able to get the minimum of 61 needed to form the government. This could result in a very unstable government.
Yisrael Beiteinu is a far, right-wing party in terms of its views toward Arabs (as opposed to religion). Yisrael Beiteinu was founded and is currently led by
Avigdor Lieberman, a Russian. Lieberman is widely considered to be a populist, a nationalist, and a racist.
Lieberman supports a two-state solution, which actually puts him at odds with Bibi, who does not. But Lieberman's two state solution involves, essentially, moving all the Palestinians to one area, perhaps by force, and having all the Jews in what is now Israel. He also favors oaths of allegiance to the State of Israel for all citizens and especially for members the Knesset. He feels any Arab MK should be executed for any contact with Hamas.
He has moderated his public views somewhat, but he is still regarded by many Israelis as extremely problematic. Under the new coalition agreement, he will become the Foreign Minister. This is likely to be viewed with great derision among most nations, including the United States.
What will the government of Bibi and Yvet (Lieberman's nickname) look like? Obviously it is impossible to say. No one could have possibly predicted that
Menachem Begin would make peace with
Anwar Sadat or that
Nixon would go to China, blah, blah, blah...So, these two extremely right wing politicians could surprise everyone.
Stay tuned for analysis
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