There is often a great deal of difference between a political party’s stand on an important issue and the way a majority of citizens feel about the same topic. That’s true in the United States, where the current effort to repeal or significantly alter health care legislation approved last year runs counter to the stated desires of most Americans. It’s true, too, in Israel, where the disconnect between political leadership and the people on the issue of peace with Palestinians has created fissures in Israeli political and civic life.
The Israeli government’s official stance is that peace talks with the Palestinians are acceptable, but that they must take place with no prior conditions. Palestinians, on the other hand, refuse to engage in discussions unless the Israeli government imposes a reasonable moratorium on settlement-building in disputed areas. A majority of Israelis, surveys indicate, want peace talks to continue, even if it means an end to construction of the settlements.
The Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who holds office because he was able to cobble together a coalition of often-feuding political parties in Parliament, is unable to act on citizens’ desires. To do so would be political suicide for Netanyahu.
Hawkish, right-wing parties in the governing coalition have made it clear that any concession to Palestinians on settlement building (or most anything else) will prompt their withdrawal. That would end Netanyahu’s parliamentary majority and force new elections. Fearing that, Netanyahu has taken a hard line with Palestinians. The result: Peace talks ended abruptly in September after a dispute about settlements. No date for resumption has been announced.
Now, another of Netanyahu’s major coalition partners is upping the ante. A spokesman for the moderate Labor Party said earlier this week that his party will pull out of the government if there is no progress in the peace talks in the next couple of months. The threat reflects both the party’s exasperation at the situation and the growing discontent of many Israelis about the government’s blatantly political approach to peace with Palestinians.
Netanyahu certainly is aware of the dangers the Labor Party threat poses. If it does withdraw from the coalition, the prime minister would be hard-pressed to maintain a viable majority in Parliament. Even if he did, the loss of Labor support would be a signal to the world that hard-liners opposed to peace with Palestinians on all but the most self-serving terms held the upper hand.
International demands for Netanyahu to actively pursue peace are growing. That encourages Palestinians to insist that their terms be met before talks resume. Netanyahu’s endorsement of continued settlement building is a rejection of Palestinian demands – and a signal that the politics of expediency rather than statesmanship and the will of the people continue to govern Israel’s approach to the peace process.