The marathon of the elections is over and this is mainly the best news.
I have to admit that it feels surprisingly satisfactory, and maybe unlike many I was taken by some good surprises.
I thought from the first moment that this election is Netanyahu’s last war and he was willing to fight it in all and any possible means. So Netanyahu has never been my concern. And there is this historical status that the Likud keeps in every elections together with another central party that keeps them roaming in between the same numbers. The clichés of each campaign wasn’t much of anew. It was however, one of the noticeable times when Israelis where fighting over who will become the next prime minister more than ever.
Of course, as a Palestinian, I enjoy this role of sitting aside and analyzing. A luxury I only have as a Palestinian since Palestinian elections seem to be an aspiration of something that is unlikely to take place in any known future.
The good news in the elections is on different perspectives. The indecisiveness and uncertainty of the winning parties is by itself good news to a Palestinian that is I. my intuition tells me that it will end up by a president decision, and I am not sure if I don’t want Netanyahu to stay. We have an Arab proverb that says: “ a face that you know is better than that you don’t “. Netanyahu will be embarrassed to be forced to sit with Palestinians against after his last campaign words about the Palestinian state. Of course Palestinian should also be angry and refuse to sit with him after what he said, but this is the game of politics. Integrity is only a word that is used in certain occasions and for specific interests. In the tow parties Palestinians and Israelis in this case, it really doesn’t matter, they have been both so used to putting such acts, and everyone will be back to the negotiations table at some point.
It would be kind of sarcastically funny to see a unity government by the two winning parties, they may agree on rotations for the three of them. But yet, officially, a unity between the two rivals is unlikely to happen. After all Netanyahu fired Livni from the government some months ago.
We will definitely experience a rough debate in the coming days on the matter.
In good days, the winning party, or closest to the winning will choose the closest to the winners in the coalition. Kahlon and Lapid secured a modest (10-12) seats , so there as well there is no real coalition that can be formed with one of the existing parties. The Arab coalition is definitely a surprising outcome and a real hit to the formation of any coalition.
But aside from all good news, the fact that the real radicals (aside from Netanyahu of course) such as Lieberman, Benet, Shas and others have experienced a serious downfall, and this is good news for all. Somehow to imagine that the Arab plot is in the same position of Lieberman party and Benet’s in the last elections, and the way they manipulated the government makes thing looks cynically good.
If Netanyahu secures a winning it is not likely that he can form a government with anyone, there are rumors about Kahlon joining, but even Kahlon is not enough. I would rather assume that the government making would go to livni-Herzog, taking into consideration that they can form easier coalitions now that Lieberman, Benet and the others are practically ineffective.
The winning horse in these elections is definitely the Arab coalition. It is good news for me as an Arab to see that a coalition really worked out. It is usually unlikely to see Arabs unite on anything, and this was a unity that deserved respect. My standpoint remains reserved, because I still find it hard to admit that Arabs inside the Knesset can serve the Palestinian nationhood. There is this concept in the whole ideology of Israel that makes it impossible to fit from one side, and no matter how one may perceive it. Israel remains a state of occupation to all Palestinians. It worries me also this wide support by the PA to the coalition. It already formed this status of separation between the two people. As if we want Arabs in the Knesset whom we already admitted that they are Israeli citizens would be our brokers inside the state of Israel.
I think this is something that should be further analyzed and studied.
But in the meantime …
Until the next israle elections, with the hopes and prayers and wishes to see a day with a Palestinian election.