World News - naftali-bennett

Updated

Feb

2013

9:14am, EST

What about Palestinians? Israeli coalition may be hard-pressed to answer

Ronen Zvulun / Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed his first coalition partner in centrist Tzipi Livni, a move that could get a nod of approval from peace activists and U.S. President Barack Obama. But how cohesive any message of peace will be depends largely on the makeup of the rest of the coalition.

By Martin Fletcher, Correspondent, NBC News

News analysis

TEL AVIV -- In the Middle Eastern bazaar, the first sale of the day is prized beyond any other. It is called the “siftach,” and to clinch the deal the seller gives a discount to the buyer, to launch a good day’s business.

In the case of the agreement announced Wednesday between Likud Beitenu leader Benjamin Netanyahu and Tzipi Livni, leader of “Hatnua” (Movement) to join a coalition government, Netanyahu was desperate to get one of the several political parties he is negotiating with to be the first to reach agreement.

So to entice Livni to sign, he sweetened his offer to include what Livni dearly wanted: the role of chief peace negotiator with the Palestinians, in addition to the guarantee of the post of justice minister for her and the post of minister of the environment for another member of her party.

Her brief in a new Netanyahu government, then, would be to launch a new peace process with the Palestinians, according to the published agreement, “with the aim of reaching a settlement with them that will put an end to the conflict.”

The significance of this is that the responsibility passes from the foreign minister, who loudly proclaimed that he did not believe in peace with the Palestinians, to Livni, who does.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still in charge, but he may no longer be Israel's most consequential politician. The Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd takes a "deep dive" into the new face of Israeli politics, Yair Lapid.

In addition to being the first step toward forming Netanyahu’s third government, it allows him to send a signal to U.S. President Barack Obama, expected in Israel on his first state visit next month, that he is serious about moving toward peace and that Obama should support him; Netanyahu’s relationship with Obama is famously fraught.

What this means in practice, however, is far from clear. It depends on who else joins Netanyahu and Livni in building a coalition government. Pundits expect Netanyahu to focus his attention next on the Labor party, as well as a couple of the religious Jewish parties, and only then to go for broke -- to offer a role to the two young newcomers, one on the left and one on the right, who have surprisingly found common cause.

The question: Can Netanyau pull off a brilliant ploy and form a government without the second- and third-largest parties, Yair Lapid’s ‘Yesh Atid’ (There is a Future) and Naftali Bennett’s Bait Hayehudi (Jewish Home)?

Or is it so brilliant? When the voters speak clearly and give the second- and third-largest number of votes to two new parties with new leaders and a large majority of new members of parliament, shouldn’t this call for change be reflected in any new government?

The problem is, and this brings us back to Livni’s role as peace negotiator, Bennett and Lapid, who agree on many social and economic issues, could not be further apart on the central question: What about the Palestinians? Bennett is absolutely clear: No Palestinian state. Lapid is with Livni.

So is there a real change in the Israeli government’s position vis a vis peace talks? As always, Netanyahu is hard to read. Does he really want Livni to take Israel down the road to compromise and peace? Or does he just want to form a new government so badly that he will offer any enticement to make it happen?

Cynics argue the latter. Some others believe that maybe a miracle is at hand.

And as Israel’s first president, David Ben Gurion, once said: To be a pragmatist in Israel, you have to believe in miracles.

Martin Fletcher is the author of "The List," "Breaking News" and "Walking Israel."

UN panel: Israel must withdraw all settlers from the West Bank

Surprisingly centrist vote has Netanyahu reaching to the left

This story was originally published on Thu Feb 21, 2013 4:42 AM EST

Jan

2013

8:36am, EST

Charismatic ex-commando pressures Netanyahu from the right as Israel prepares to vote

Millionaire Naftali Bennett, who is bitterly opposed to a Palestinian state, is set to propel his party into a key position during upcoming elections. NBC's John Ray reports.

By John Ray, Correspondent, NBC News

TEL AVIV, Israel — Something very curious is happening at the top of Israeli politics.

Benyamin Netanyahu — who has flown high as a hawk — is in danger of looking a little dovish.

It’s not that the prime minister, who seeks and will almost certainly win re-election on Tuesday, has transformed himself into a peacenik. On the contrary; his campaign ads feature an intimidating cast of Israel’s nasty neighbors Hamas, Hezbollah and doesn't forget Iran. The message — that only strong-man Netanyahu can be trusted to defend the nation.

The problem is that Netanyahu is being outflanked on the even harder right, which means that after the elections, he will feel pressure to become more hardline on issues such as Palestinian statehood.

It is probably even more galling for him that the rising star and rival is a former aide.

'100 years of bloodshed'
Like most political pretenders here, Naftali Bennett boasts a military background, in his case as an army commando. He’s also a successful businessman who sold his company for a multi-million dollar fortune. What distinguishes him is a rare energy and a charisma often lacking in his counterparts. That, and a willingness to speak bluntly.

"Injecting an artificial Arab state within the land of Israel would bring 100 years of bloodshed and war that would never end. It’s not good for the Arabs. It’s not good for the Israelis," he said.

Dan Balilty / Pool via Getty Images

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the Ariel University Center in the West Bank on Jan. 8. The institution's status was recently formally upgraded, making it the first university in the West Bank Jewish settlements.

It is a message that has thrilled Israel’s settler community — the hundreds of thousands of Jews who live on land occupied by Israel since 1967, illegally according to international law. Peace talks with the Palestinians — around 2.5 million of whom live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — ground to a halt in 2010 after Netanyahu decided not to extend a moratorium on the building of settlements.

Netanyahu maintains that he is still committed to the creation of a Palestinian state as part of peace deal, but only as long as it is not a threat to Israel's security.

For their part, Bennett and his Jewish Home party have no plans to turn the land over. Rather, the party proposes to annex nearly two-thirds of it, inviting any Palestinians who live there to take Israeli citizenship — or to leave. His popularity was clear during a recent rally in the southern city of Be'er Sheva as supporters, many too young to actually vote, mobbed him.

More Israel coverage from NBC News

Bennett is especially popular among the Jewish population in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, where Israeli soldiers patrol streets closed to Palestinians to protect a few hundred settlers.

"He’s a good guy, a very good guy," two young Jewish men said as they flashed a thumbs-up.

Bennett is strong and will look after Jewish communities, many fellow settlers believe.

President Obama's second term will be just hours old when he'll need to turn his attention to elections in Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has campaigned largely on one issue: security. NBC's Jim Maceda reports.

He won’t win the election, of course. But his party might finish third or even second and under the proportional system of government here, that pretty much guarantees him a seat in the next ruling coalition.

His uncompromising voice will leave Netanyahu — the ace tactician — with less wiggle room as he deals with the tricky issues of settlements, Palestinians, war and peace.

And all that against a backdrop of a new American administration showing signs that it is tired of always having to stick up for its ally, no matter what.

To Israelis, who live in a tough neighborhood, strong men have always appealed.

But to survive, many know that this country also needs friends and they fret that Bennett and his like on the hard right will only isolate Israel further.

Follow NBC / ITV correspondent John Ray on Twitter.

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