No cheers for Palestine

We welcome with cautious optimism the news of the removal of Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel's prime minister after a new coalition government took power on June 13. Netanyahu, the chief architect of Palestinian misery over the last 12 years, has been replaced by his former chief of staff Naftali Bennett. This would have been an improbable scenario even a few weeks ago. It comes after a tumultuous coalition building exercise that saw wildly diverse and disparate parties uniting with little in common except for a desire to unseat Netanyahu. Under the new coalition deal, Bennett, a right-wing nationalist, will be replaced as prime minister by centrist Yair Lapid in 2023. For the Palestinians, and for those of us who want to see a peaceful resolution to the Palestine question, what's important is whether this can bring any meaningful change going forward.

Bennett's ascension to premiership may have been a political jaw-dropper but it was, as experts have pointed out, the best of three "highly imperfect alternatives"—the other two being the continued rule of Benjamin Netanyahu or an unprecedented fifth round of elections in two years. So, we finally got rid of the "crime minister" of Israel, but does it mean an end to his destructive legacy? A reality check, unfortunately, provides little assurance that things would be different now that he is gone.

First, the very makeup of this coalition of left-wing, centrist, right-wing and Arab parties—each with conflicting priorities—underscores its fragility. It may disintegrate at the slightest of provocations, if the history of such coalition governments in Israel is any indication. Coalition leaders have themselves said they would maintain a "status quo" on issues of religion and state and will, therefore, be unwilling to agree to any sweeping policy changes to resolve the Palestine crisis. Second, Netanyahu may have been unseated but he remains a force to reckon with. Even before Bennett was sworn in, he had warned that his Likud party, now in opposition, will try to "topple" the new government—and that may happen "sooner than people think". Third, there is no reason to think the new premier, who served as a defense minister under Netanyahu, will be much different from his former boss. His political career, like that of many in the new government, was moulded by Netanyahu. Bennett has also long advocated annexing parts of the occupied West Bank. The best-case scenario is that he will be handicapped by his lack of representation in the coalition (his party has only six of the parliament's 120 seats). But no concessions toward Palestine can be expected from him either.

What all this means is, the status quo on the question of Palestinian sovereignty will most likely remain in place. We may see a continuation of Israel's annexation and settler projects unfolding differently, with the US forever at its disposal, even if there are fewer bombings in the occupied territories. The departure of one man, however evil, will not bring any fruitful change unless Israel, as a state, changes its policy. The world must take decisive action to make this apartheid state comply with international laws and protect Palestine's right to self-rule with dignity.