Posted on Dec 29, 2022
Benjamin Netanyahu's new Israeli government will make West Bank expansion a priority
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https://www.npr.org/2022/12/29/ [login to see] /benjamin-netanyahus-new-israeli-government-will-make-west-bank-expansion-a-prior
Benjamin Netanyahu's incoming hard-line Israeli government put West Bank settlement expansion at the top of its priority list on Wednesday, vowing to legalize dozens of illegally built outposts and annex the occupied territory as part of its coalition deal with ultranationalist allies.
The coalition agreements, released a day before the government is to be sworn into office, also included language endorsing discrimination against LGBTQ people on religious grounds, contentious judicial reforms, as well as generous stipends for ultra-Orthodox men who prefer to study instead of work.
The package laid the groundwork for what is expected to be a stormy beginning for the country's most religious and right-wing government in history, potentially putting it at odds with large parts of the Israeli public, rankling Israel's closest allies and escalating tensions with the Palestinians.
"What worries me the most is that these agreements change the democratic structure of what we know of as the state of Israel," said Tomer Naor, chief legal officer of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a watchdog group. "One day we'll all wake up and Netanyahu is not going to be prime minister, but some of these changes will be irreversible."
Benjamin Netanyahu's incoming hard-line Israeli government put West Bank settlement expansion at the top of its priority list on Wednesday, vowing to legalize dozens of illegally built outposts and annex the occupied territory as part of its coalition deal with ultranationalist allies.
The coalition agreements, released a day before the government is to be sworn into office, also included language endorsing discrimination against LGBTQ people on religious grounds, contentious judicial reforms, as well as generous stipends for ultra-Orthodox men who prefer to study instead of work.
The package laid the groundwork for what is expected to be a stormy beginning for the country's most religious and right-wing government in history, potentially putting it at odds with large parts of the Israeli public, rankling Israel's closest allies and escalating tensions with the Palestinians.
"What worries me the most is that these agreements change the democratic structure of what we know of as the state of Israel," said Tomer Naor, chief legal officer of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a watchdog group. "One day we'll all wake up and Netanyahu is not going to be prime minister, but some of these changes will be irreversible."
Benjamin Netanyahu's new Israeli government will make West Bank expansion a priority
Posted from npr.org
Israel
LGBTQ+
Religion
Palestine
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 4
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Two of Netanyahu's key ministers — incoming interior minister Aryeh Deri and Ben-Gvir — have criminal records. Deri, who served time in prison in 2002 for bribery, pleaded guilty to tax fraud earlier this year, and Netanyahu and his coalition passed a law this week to allow him to serve as a minister despite his conviction. Ben-Gvir was convicted in 2009 of inciting racism and supporting a terrorist organization.
Israel's figurehead president, Isaac Herzog, on Wednesday expressed "deep concern" about the incoming government and its positions on LGBTQ rights, racism and the country's Arab minority in a rare meeting with Ben-Gvir, one of the coalition's most radical members. Herzog urged Ben-Gvir to "calm the stormy winds."
The government platform also mentioned that the loosely defined rules governing holy sites, including Jerusalem's flashpoint shrine known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, would remain the same.
Ben-Gvir and other Religious Zionism politicians had called for the "status quo" to be changed to allow Jewish prayer at the site, a move that risked inflaming tensions with the Palestinians. The status of the site is the emotional epicenter of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In an interview with CNN published Wednesday, King Abdullah II of Jordan warned that his country would respond if Israel crossed red lines and tried to change the status of the sacred Jerusalem site, over which Jordan has custodianship.
"If people want to get into a conflict with us, we're quite prepared," he said."
..."Two of Netanyahu's key ministers — incoming interior minister Aryeh Deri and Ben-Gvir — have criminal records. Deri, who served time in prison in 2002 for bribery, pleaded guilty to tax fraud earlier this year, and Netanyahu and his coalition passed a law this week to allow him to serve as a minister despite his conviction. Ben-Gvir was convicted in 2009 of inciting racism and supporting a terrorist organization.
Israel's figurehead president, Isaac Herzog, on Wednesday expressed "deep concern" about the incoming government and its positions on LGBTQ rights, racism and the country's Arab minority in a rare meeting with Ben-Gvir, one of the coalition's most radical members. Herzog urged Ben-Gvir to "calm the stormy winds."
The government platform also mentioned that the loosely defined rules governing holy sites, including Jerusalem's flashpoint shrine known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, would remain the same.
Ben-Gvir and other Religious Zionism politicians had called for the "status quo" to be changed to allow Jewish prayer at the site, a move that risked inflaming tensions with the Palestinians. The status of the site is the emotional epicenter of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In an interview with CNN published Wednesday, King Abdullah II of Jordan warned that his country would respond if Israel crossed red lines and tried to change the status of the sacred Jerusalem site, over which Jordan has custodianship.
"If people want to get into a conflict with us, we're quite prepared," he said."
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SSG Roger Ayscue
and yet United States Democratic Politicians that happen to be Jewish as well will NEVER condemn Israel or support America with the same allowances and winking that they allow Israel.
Why I would LOVE to see Chuck Schumer get up on the Senate floor and call for Israeli Border standards (Like at Gaza or between Zones "C" and "D" of the Sinai treaty (MFO Veterans know what I am talking about) be enforced here, or that a national ID to be used to determine who goes into what parts of the city (Like Palestinians have to show to navigate Jerusalem.
Both examples seen with my own eyes when assigned to the MFO (Multi-National Force and Observers, Sinai).
I would Love to see the Democrats allow the United States to do what they allow the IDF to do in defense of the country and its soverenity.
I would Love to see the Republicans point out the the Israeli Government just how much their actions toward the Palestinians are reminiscent of the anti-Semitism of Europe of the 1900's.
Neither will happen.
Why I would LOVE to see Chuck Schumer get up on the Senate floor and call for Israeli Border standards (Like at Gaza or between Zones "C" and "D" of the Sinai treaty (MFO Veterans know what I am talking about) be enforced here, or that a national ID to be used to determine who goes into what parts of the city (Like Palestinians have to show to navigate Jerusalem.
Both examples seen with my own eyes when assigned to the MFO (Multi-National Force and Observers, Sinai).
I would Love to see the Democrats allow the United States to do what they allow the IDF to do in defense of the country and its soverenity.
I would Love to see the Republicans point out the the Israeli Government just how much their actions toward the Palestinians are reminiscent of the anti-Semitism of Europe of the 1900's.
Neither will happen.
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