Israeli society is constantly swerving to the Right and, by doing so, the country’s entire political paradigm is redefined regularly. Israel is now ‘ruled by the most extreme right wing government in its history’ has grown from being an informed assessment to a dull cliché over the course of only a few years.
In a surprise move, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week forced out his long-serving defence minister, Moshe Yaalon. As he stepped down, Yaalon warned: “Extremist and dangerous elements have taken over Israel.”
He was referring partly to his expected successor: Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu party, whose trademark outbursts have included demands to bomb Egypt and behead disloyal Palestinian citizens.
Israel’s defense minister Moshe Ya’alon was replaced by one of the most extreme politicians in Israel: Avigdor Liberman. The rift between Ya’alon and Netanyahu seems irreconcilable. Right from the start, Ya’alon supported the IDF prosecutors who charged Elor Azaray with the murder that caused an outcry in Israel. A right-wing crowd proclaimed Azaray “King of Israel”. Netanyahu distanced himself from Ya’alon. Azaray executed a helpless heavily wounded Palestinian in cold blood at point-blank range.
New York Times conceals Israeli support for ISIS terrorMargaret SullivanPublic EditorThe New York Timespublic@nytimes.com Dear MargaretIn your Feb.
Here is our letter to the New York Times concerning the failure of the newspaper to report the Israeli Defense Minister’s preference for the ISIS terrorist organization, as we informed you in this column yesterday:To the EditorIs there a reason why the Times has not reported the January 19 statement of Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon that he prefers that ISIS take over Syria, if it is a choice between ISIS and Iranian forces?As you know, if ISIS were to conquer Syria, the Christian an
News coming out of the occupied Palestine on 8 August 2015 said that Saad Dawabsheh, the father of a Palestinian toddler Ali who was killed in a firebombing of his home a week ago, has died from wounds he sustained in the incident.
Early in the morning of July 31, Israeli settlers hurled a Molotov cocktail into a window of Dawabsheh’s home in the Duma village in occupied West Bank. His 18-month-old son, Ali was burned to death in the arson attack, while his four-year-old son Ahmad, and his wife, Riham were seriously injured and remain in critical condition.
In July, regular Guardian contributor Nafeez Ahmed examined claims that Israel is seeking to create a ‘political climate’ conducive to the exploitation of Gaza’s considerable offshore gas reserves – 1.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, valued at $4 billion – which were discovered off the Gaza coast in 2000.
The IDF launched a vast ground operation in Gaza last night. Until now, Israel has failed to articulate its military objectives. No one in Israel is willing to commit to a definition of what a victory would look like. I am afraid that the military objective is obvious: saving Netanyahu’s political career.
Things have come to a strange state of affairs when Washington regards Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s far-right foreign minister, as the voice of moderation in the Israeli cabinet.
While Lieberman has called the soon-to-be-unveiled US peace plan the best deal Israel is ever likely to get, and has repeatedly flattered its chief author, US secretary of state John Kerry, other ministers have preferred to pull off the diplomatic gloves.
