Israeli Peace Agenda Is No Vote Winner for Netanyahu Rivals
Candidates who preach visions of peace will probably lose again in the coming Israeli election as renewed conflict with the Palestinians leaves voters anxious about their personal safety, analysts say.
Stabbings in Jerusalem, hit-and-run attacks in the West Bank and missiles from the Gaza Strip have reinforced public support for a massive police deployment and snuffed out hopes for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict anytime soon, says Ben-Gurion University political scientist Yoram Meital. As in the last election, concerns over the prices of housing and food are likely to trump hopes for a placid Middle East.
“I don’t see the peace process attracting much voter support at this time,” said Meital, chairman of the Herzog Center for Middle East Studies and Diplomacy. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “has shifted the wheel very dramatically” and “convinced most Israelis that the Palestinian leadership is not a sincere partner for peace.” Palestinians see no hope for progress if Netanyahu is re-elected, he said.
Polls show Netanyahu headed for a fourth term and leading a coalition that will take a more hardline stand on peacemaking than the government that collapsed this week. Many Israelis see gaps with the Palestinians as unbridgeable and in the absence of a large-scale uprising, are less concerned about resolving the conflict than they are with ending the day-to-day battle to make ends meet, analysts say.
Netanyahu, 65, this week fired Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, chief negotiator with the Palestinians, and Finance Minister Yair Lapid, accusing the two of undermining his coalition government’s agenda. Parliamentary leaders set election day for March 17.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-04/netanyahu-rivals-seeking-peace-accord-seen-losing-in-israel-vote.html
