Wednesday 26 July 2023

Israel's future facing political and social chaos

For the briefest of moments everyone watching the crisis unfolding in Israel had hoped that Bibi Netanyahu, the increasingly autocratic prime minister, would find a way of preventing the country descending into an abyss. But it was an illusion, no a delusion. He was rushed to hospital to have a pacemaker fitted and came out with renewed energy to push through his extremist government's legislation emasculating the supreme court. The whole of the opposition abstained. Thousands of Israeli air force reservists have resigned. Who knows what the rest of the military will do. Normally they proudly defend their nation. But not the nation run by wild-eyed extremists. Netanyahu, both revered and feared in Israel, had reached a moment in his political life when he had to choose between staying in power, backed by the most right-wing cabinet ever seen in Israel, or serve his nation. He chose the former. Why? Because he is charged with corruption and the only way he can delay legal proceedings is by being prime minister, and the only way he is able to do that is by allying himself to politicians who have no interest in democracy but just want power to carry out legislation that will change the image of the country for ever around the world. Like annexing the West Bank. Joe Biden did his best to persuade Netanyahu to take a different path but this time the greatest of Israel's allies was dismissed and rejected. Netanyahu and his extremist cohorts won. Israel and the Israeli people will for ever rue this day.

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