So this is a critical battle in Israel. It’s not between left and right, but rather a division within the right over the rule of law. Tellingly, in his resignation speech – in which he vowed to return to politics and one day compete for the top job – Ya’alon also defended Israel’s supreme court, a frequent punchbag for the ultra-nationalists. That his job has been offered to Lieberman – who during the last Gaza war called for Jewish Israelis to boycott Arab shops, and who once suggested Israel punish Egypt by bombing the Aswan dam – tells you on which side of this crucial divide Netanyahu now stands. [...]
For the optimist, the consolation comes in noting that, if Netanyahu were minded to make a move, he would now face no opposition on the right. The most seasoned Palestinian negotiators concluded long ago that their best shot at a deal is with a united Israeli right: the left might mean well, but would always be overcome by domestic resistance. Hopeful types also note that Lieberman may be brutal and a xenophobe, but he is also a pragmatist: unlike the more ideological rightist Naftali Bennett, he supports a two-state solution.
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