I find it highly unlikely that there are still rational actors in Israel, occupied Palestine, who continue to bet on the “two-state solution.”
Quite frankly, that bet has become impossible as long as Benjamin Netanyahu remains a central figure in Israeli politics, as the systematic “brainwashing” of Israeli children has matured to the point where they are more right-wing and more hostile to Arabs and peace than their parents and grandparents, and as long as conservative American patronage of Israel’s lobbies, financiers, sponsors, and activists remains unconditional and beyond accountability.
Throughout his political career, Netanyahu has “consumed” dozens of rivals, both civilian and military, while exposing the insignificance, cowardice, or hypocrisy of others. One after another, they have fallen by the wayside, while he has repeatedly managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Figures like Netanyahu feel neither shame nor restraint. Lying, exaggeration, incitement, and betrayal, even of allies, have been defining characteristics throughout most stages of his political ascent, which began during his tenure as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations from 1984 to 1988, the same year he first entered the Knesset.
For him, “the end always justifies the means.” How much more so when exploiting religion becomes an easy way to cover personal scandals and gamble with national security in pursuit of revenge and political score-settling?
In this election, Netanyahu had a number of incentives that a seasoned opportunist like him would never miss.
The first incentive was personal: preserving his immunity as prime minister. Although the office of Israel’s prime minister does not grant automatic immunity from prosecution in corruption cases, such as the bribery, fraud, and breach-of-trust charges Netanyahu has faced since 2020, remaining in office provides him with various tools and avenues to maneuver and delay judicial proceedings.
The second incentive was domestic: the growing hostility toward Palestinians and Arabs following the October 7, 2023 attack, even though segments of the Israeli public accuse Netanyahu of negligence and demand that he be tried.
The third incentive, also domestic, is the absence of charismatic and mobilizing opposition figures capable of challenging Netanyahu and removing him from power. This was reflected in the most recent election results.
Netanyahu failed to secure a governing majority with his far-right allies, yet his opponents also failed to gain sufficient representation to form an alternative government, particularly so long as the longstanding prohibition on cooperation with the Arab parliamentary blocs, the Joint List and the United Arab List, remains in place. Together, these blocs achieved an unprecedented representation of 19 seats.
The fourth incentive is undoubtedly the external environment, which favors both “Netanyahu the man” and “Netanyahu the approach.”
On one hand, the White House, at least for the foreseeable future, is led by the most right-wing American leadership and one almost completely committed to “Christian Zionist Evangelicalism.”
Today, it effectively believes that it is engaged in a global struggle against its adversaries, stretching from South America to the East China Sea and encompassing Europe and the Middle East.
On the other hand, there is the chronic and unjustifiable state of Arab division, whether in analysis, expectations, policy responses, or strategic calculations. Naturally, in such circumstances, especially with the emergence of other regional actors pursuing different objectives from different positions, no clear consensus exists on priorities or on how to move forward, even if intentions are sincere.
The fifth and final incentive, which I believe is one of the most important of all, is Israel’s transformation into a stronghold, laboratory, and repository of advanced technology, from the data revolution to the vast frontier of artificial intelligence. Thus, whatever Israel may lack demographically, it more than compensates for technologically.
What we read and hear confirms that Israel’s “Silicon Coast” and AI ecosystem have become a tangible reality. Along the coastal corridor encompassing the greater Tel Aviv-Jaffa area lie the principal centers of some of the world’s leading information technology and artificial intelligence companies and institutions. This technological belt stretches from Netanya in the north to Rehovot in the south and Petah Tikva in the east, including cities such as Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, Ra’anana, Herzliya, and Ness Ziona.
On another note, I read yesterday that individuals close to Netanyahu had approached Mansour Abbas, the leader of the United Arab List and an Islamist parliamentarian, to explore whether there might be an opportunity for participation in a “national unity government,” or external support for it, in exchange for specific budgets and demands.
What is striking, if this approach actually occurred, is that it came only a day or two after Arab candidates had been accused of “receiving foreign support.”
Anyone familiar with conditions in the occupied territories knows that Israeli governments have never objected to some Palestinian groups receiving Gulf funding for civilian purposes. More amusing, however, is that the very party making these accusations, Likud and its leader, receives seemingly endless financial backing from American lobbying groups before and after elections.
Moreover, President Donald Trump openly and publicly declared his support for Likud in this election, without objection from leading opposition figures such as General Gadi Eisenkot, nor from other Jewish factions opposed to Netanyahu, including the Democrats (the remnants of centrist and center-left parties), as well as the blocs of Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid, Avigdor Lieberman, and others.
Strange and astonishing indeed... may God have mercy on al-Qazwini.
