Netanyahu’s Crossroad

Against all predictions, polls and the desire of some countries which expected a change after two consecutive governments, the current prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his right-wing party, Likud, prevailed in the parliamentary elections of that country.

Appealing to citizens’ fear of Palestinians, to Iran’s nuclear development, and even to the growth of the Arab Israeli vote in the Middle Eastern country which prides itself in having the only democracy in the region, Netanyahu reversed projections with unexpected ease, a result which fills the future of the already blocked peace process with Palestinians with uncertainty, particularly when, in a desperate campaign act, he promised that if he won a new term he would not allow the foundation of a Palestinian state.



While Thursday he tried to refine his words, this, of course, was a bomb that detonated within the already eroded trust in the turbulent process and caused the U.S. to threaten to “reassess its options” regarding Israel before the U.N., because the solution Washington has defended is the “two-state” one. Under the excuse of the alliance between the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas movement, which he considers to be “terrorist,” ‘Bibi’ –as he is known in his country– has not done much to overcome the obstacles of the process, while the construction of settlements in the occupied territories, which in theory should be part of the future Palestinian State, advances unabated.



But Netanyahu may be playing with fire. Israel has not had a more loyal ally than the U.S., or more privileged proximity, but the prime minister’s attitude bookmarks what may be the lowest point in the relations between both countries in recent years. His rudeness toward president Obama when he addressed Congress without Obama’s consent, his fierce opposition to nuclear negotiations with Iran and his disdain toward the Arab-Israeli vote have not gone down well in the U.S., which now, more than ever, wishes to see in Israel a leader more committed to peace.