Israeli Prime Minister Forms Unity Government, Reminds me of the Non-Unity of the Palestinians

Israel has been buzzing the past few weeks with the speculations regarding the intent to disperse the current Israeli Knesset and hold early elections in the coming September (rather than allowing the Knesset and government to stay in tact for one more year, bringing its’ term to a total of four years). Since Sunday, it was official and a bill to for dispersing the Knesset was in motion, as well as several “no confidence” votes, which weren’t successful.

Then, late into last night, the elections which seemed so close (set for September 4th), now seem much further away, maybe even in their scheduled date of October 2013.

Israeli leading government party, Likud, has formed a unity government with the leading opposition party, Kadima. Together, they hold 55 of the total 120 seats of the Knesset. Kadima has joined the current Israeli coalition (in power since the 2009 elections), making it the widest coalition Israel has ever had.

The chairwoman of the Labor party, Shelly Yachimovich, is expected to be nominated the new opposition leader, now that she’s the chairwoman of the biggest opposition party (after Kadima’s entrance to the government).

The unity was formed with several key issues in store, and whether or not it will hold remains to be seen.

Israeli prime minister and Likud party chairman, Benjamin Netanyahu, [left] and former Israeli opposition leader and Kadima party chairman [and now Vice Prime Minister], Shaul Mofaz, [right] at a press conference declaring their coalition agreement, today at noon.

Why am I even writing a post about this and why should you care?

Because Israel is in focus in worldview on two issues: Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And while some speculate what this may mean regarding Israel’s stance over Iran’s nuclear program, and will this spark new negotiations with the Palestinians (the Palestinians themselves seem very unimpressed. Kadima was the ruling party in government before this current government and has conducted the offensive in Gaza. Its’ former chairman, Ehud Olmert, made the Palestinians the most advance offers ever made by Israel in order to reach peace!).

Labor party chairwoman, Shelly Yachimovich, is expected to be nominated the new opposition leader.

I want to focus on the second – the Palestinian issue. And on their own so-called Unity.

You see, it just so happens to be that not only are we in May, but that last May (of 2011), the Palestinian factions of Fatah (in control over the Palestinian Authority and the West Bank) and Hamas (controling the Gaza Strip since a violent and bloody coup in Summer of 2007), have stood together in Cairo, and later in Doha, and announced they’re putting their “differences” aside, neverminding the fact Hamas was gunning down and punishing by amputations and torture any Fatah member in the Gaza Strip. They announced a unity.

Well, we’re one year past it and no unity in sight.

1. They were supposed to make mutual releases of prisoners. Barely happened. All they can agree upon is that Israel should release all Palestinian prisoners (including the “heros” involved in terror and murders). Nothing about the prisoners they each have of the other faction.
2. Elections – what elections? The so-called “democracy” of the Palestinians (as PA President Mahmoud Abbas described it in his op-ed article in The New York Times on May 16th, 2011) hasn’t held elections since 2006. The unity was supposed to bring forth elections in September of 2011 – did not happen. Moreover, since the last round of election were unaccepted in full by both large parties and led to the violent coup, who’s to say even if such elections were held they would succeed?
3. Hamas was supposed to join the PLO, a supposed body formed in early 1960s in Jordan, to represent all Palestinians (this is the body officialy holding a seat in UNESCO and the UN, although it’s the Fatah and PA that de-facto controls it). It did not happen (which is good, the PLO recieves international recognition while Hamas refuses to follow basic international demands made by the Quartet).

And the list can go on. It seems the only thing the Palestinian factions can agree upon is hating Israel and de-legitimizing it. Each in their own way, of course.

But what do you except? Since Hamas leader Khaled Mashal said in December (in order to enter the PLO) that Hamas will abandon it’s ways of terror, over 300 rockets and mortar shells were fired into Israel. Now true, Hamas wasn’t the one shooting these rockets at Israeli citizens. It was the other 15 terror organizations in Gaza, being armed daily by the Ayatollah regime in Iran. But, and this is a huge but, Hamas made sure to not enforce its’ governace it so claims to have and did nothing to stop these shootings, until Egypt intervened to broker a truce.

Now there’s a lot of reasons why the Palestinians won’t hold any negotiations with Israel regarding peace and ending the conflict (even after this unity government). The non-unity of Hamas is just one of them.

But here’s a key issue –

If Israel’s unity government will fail, Israel will hold fair, honest and open elections as it has done in the past 64 years. Even if the unity will succeed, Israel will hold elections in due time as set by law.

If the Palestinian unity will fail, elections can never be held. The de-facto situation of two states with two people (West Bank and Gaza) will remain. Even if elections could be held, the prior ones clearly show no party is really truly obligated to honor the results. Each faction interpreted the results as was most convient and thus a violent coup, a bloody tear, ensued.

There are many reasons why this conflict continues to exist. Israel is the not the sole, nor necessarily the main, reason!!

Tags: Benjamin Netanyahu, Fatah, hamas, Israel, Middle-east conflict, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, peace process, PLO, Unity Government