The Palestinian Forum for Israeli Studies
Ramallah: The "Madar Strategic Report for the Year 2023 - The Israeli Scene 2022" shows that the far-right government formed by Netanyahu portends strategic consequences for the Palestinian people and their cause. It places Israel in an unprecedented internal crossroads affecting its direction. The composition, proposed plans, and role distribution of this government hold a significant potential to ignite the situation on both sides of the Green Line. It pushes Israel from a phase of maneuvering regarding the "two-state solution" discourse to a phase of eradicating it in favor of sovereignty over what is termed "Land of Israel," de facto annexation of the 'C' classified areas, attacking the Palestinian presence therein, and intensifying Judaization and settlement in Jerusalem and along the Green Line.
Ramallah: The "Strategic Report 2022 - The Israeli Scene 2021" concludes that Israel has succeeded in accumulating further regional gains through normalization agreements, alongside improving its official relations with Western countries during the tenure of the Bennett/Lapid government. It notes that this improvement remains constrained by a set of pressing international challenges, most notably the "Iranian Nuclear" negotiations, which are diverging from Israeli desires. There is also a significant shift in the discourse of international human rights organizations towards Israel, moving from describing it as an occupying state within the 1967 borders to considering it a state implementing apartheid between the river and the sea.
Ramallah: The Strategic Report 2021 – Israeli Scene 2020 of the Palestinian Forum for Israeli Studies (MADAR) has concluded the Israeli developments present a contradictory picture. Although it is in internal crisis, externally, Israel appears as a powerful state, acting like a “regional superpower”. Held on 23 March 2021, results of the latest elections (the fourth in two years) have further exacerbated and deepened the political disintegration. Supporters of the Netanyahu and opposition camps have failed to win an adequate number of Knesset seats to form a narrow and stable coalition, making a fifth round of elections a potential scenario.
The "Madar" strategic report for the year 2020, issued by the Palestinian Center for Israeli Studies "Madar," highlights the impact of the recent Israeli elections held on March 2, 2020, on the ongoing political crisis. The report states that these elections deepened the political crisis that had been ongoing for about a year. It mentions that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister and leader of the Likud party, failed in his gamble to secure a right-wing bloc that did not require the support of Avigdor Lieberman's party. However, the report also notes that a new factor, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, disrupted the entire political landscape.
Ramallah: The "Madar Strategic Report 2021 - The Israeli Scene 2020" highlights the paradoxical nature of Israeli developments. Externally, Israel projects strength, akin to a "major regional power," yet internally, it grapples with a crisis, exemplified by the recent March 23, 2021 elections—the fourth in two years. These elections deepened political disintegration as neither Netanyahu’s supporters nor his opponents secured enough seats for a stable coalition, paving the way for a potential fifth election.
The Palestinian Center for Israeli Studies, "Madar," unveiled these insights during a Zoom conference in Ramallah. The report underscores that the electoral crisis isn't merely a product of partisan conflicts but results from profound internal transformations in Israel. It marks the end of the dominance of one group, giving rise to multiple groups vying for control, suggesting that this crisis isn't transitory but a consequence of structural changes with lasting implications, especially concerning the axis of conflict and occupation.
The 2017 Israeli scene was impacted by a set of international, regional and local developments, which are expected to increasingly leave their imprint in the medium to long terms.
At the front of these variables, the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States of America in January 2017 represented a major international event that has strategic impacts on the question of Palestine. This is not only because of Trump’s unconditional support of Israel, but also due to the composition of the new administration, which Trump surrounds himself with. Distinctive of an ideological affiliation with the far right wing or (evangelical) Christian Zionism, the US Administration supports and deals with Israel and the question of Palestine in line with ideological perceptions, which combine a transcendental religious vision with politics.
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The Repercussions of the War against Gaza on Israel's Relations with Russia and Turkey: Will There Be Fundamental Changes?
On the collapse of the concept of "moving away from America and the West and replacing them with new friends": "Netanyahu was looking for comfortable political partners, even at the cost of harming Israel's national security."
Israeli Affairs (Issue no. 91)
