Word: israelity
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Holding Back Middle East Peace The sad tale of "lonesome doves" in Israel was particularly disturbing because, despite massive damage and misery, the violence will not solve a thing for either side [Feb. 2]. The Oslo accords outlined a mutually agreeable vision of a two-state solution. But each side has an intractable minority that will accept nothing short of everything it wants. Until each side makes an absolute commitment to controlling its own hard-liners - whatever it takes - the conflict will never end. Richard Jepson, SEQUIM, WASH...
...Israel's election on Tuesday ended in a near draw, with the two front runners - centrist Kadima Party leader Tzipi Livni and hawkish Likud chief Benjamin Netanyahu - each claiming victory. With nearly all votes counted, Livni's party won 28 Knesset seats, and Netanyahu's 27 seats, both falling well short of a majority in the 120-seat Knesset...
...result could be the worst possible outcome for Israel, guaranteeing weeks of political turmoil ahead and stalling any attempts by U.S. President Barack Obama's Administration to restart Middle East peace talks. Whoever comes to power in Israel is likely to be tugged in different directions by combative coalition partners. In the past, smaller parties have held governments of both the right and the left hostage to their narrow, self-serving agendas. (See pictures of heartbreak in the Middle East...
...command a Knesset-majority coalition if Livni fails to tempt some of his allies to back her. (And, of course, the price for Livni winning backing from parties of the right will necessarily restrain her plans to pursue peace talks with the Palestinian Authority.) It will be up to Israel's president, Shimon Peres, to tap Livni or Netanyahu to form a government, based on his consultations with all parties. And, of course, these projections are based on exit polls - and some observers suggest that because those exit polls didn't include the votes of active-duty soldiers, the final...
...make common cause with the hawkish Netanyahu than with Livni. But nothing is ever certain in an Israeli political system rendered inherently unstable by its proportional-representation formula that has made it almost impossible for any party to win a majority on its own. Whoever is asked to form Israel's next government will do so at the head of a coalition of greater or lesser instability. But instability is unavoidable in Israeli politics...