2022 was the bloodiest year in Palestine since 2006, according to the UN. A total of 181 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces this year. On December 13, The Times of Israel wrote that 27 Israelis and foreigners had so far been killed in Palestinian terrorist attacks during 2022. Residents of Gaza and the West Bank fear 2023 could be even bloodier. Israel’s new government is more radical right than ever. With him on the team is Benjamin Netanyahu (73) and his Likud party, a group of ultra-Orthodox and ultra-nationalist parties such as the Jewish Power Party and the Religious Zionism Party. The government was officially confirmed by the Knesset with 63 votes in favor and 54 votes against. Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionist Party, speaks with colleague Orit Strook in the Knesset. Smotrich will be Israel’s new finance minister. Photo: GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP Will expand illegal settlements Together they promise that “the Jewish people have an exclusive and undoubted right to all the lands of Israel”. It includes the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, which under international law belong to the Palestinian people. Netanyahu promises that he will work for peace and security. Leader of the Palestine Committee, Line Khateeb, is concerned. – That Israeli politics is moving to the right is a development we have seen over time. But this is an extreme right-wing government. Netanyahu is back with the help of quite extreme forces, to which many Israelis are also reacting, says Khateeb. Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the party Jødisk Makt is happy about the results after the parliamentary elections in Israel on November 2, 2022. Ben-Gvir is known to have had a portrait of the terrorist Baruch Goldstein at his home. He will now become Minister of Security. Photo: Oren Ziv / AP Israel’s new government promises that it will expand the more than 240 settlements in the Palestinian territories, including the approximately 100 outposts that Israel itself considers illegal. The new finance minister is Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionism party. Smotrich himself is a resident of the West Bank, and is now responsible for approving new settlements. The new security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who will be responsible for the police forces in Israel. He has previously been convicted of racism and supporting a terrorist organisation. Map of Israel and Palestine. The blue-purple areas in the West Bank marked as “Area C” are administered to a large extent by the Israeli authorities, although under international law it belongs to Palestine. Photo: Wikimedia Commons – This means more violence and discrimination against Palestinians, but also by minority groups within Israel. The new government is anti-LGBT, anti-abortion, more conservative. People will react to that, says Khateeb. – There is an expectation that there will be more violence in Jerusalem and in the West Bank, says Reham Odeh to Al Jazeera. He is Palestinian and lives in Gaza. – The most dangerous thing is the unprecedented sharp tone of hostility, says the activist Ahmed Abu Artema, also a resident of Gaza. – This makes us expect more discrimination against Palestinians and that more land will be stolen, says Abu Artema to Al Jazeera. The new government in Israel. Photo: Tsafrir Abayov / AP Called “weak” and charged with corruption Netanyahu returns to his sixth term in power, having led Israel for a total of 15 years. In 2021, he had to step down after a historically broad coalition formed a government. One of the reasons for that was that in 2019 he was convicted of bribery, cheating and breach of trust. He is still charged with corruption. Netanyahu himself denies having done anything wrong. Netanyahu supporters gathered at an election vigil for the Likud party in November. Photo: MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP The opposition expressed concerns about the future of democracy when Netanyahu was voted forward. Several representatives called him “weak”. Netanyahu dismisses the concerns. – I hear the opposition’s constant complaints about “the end of the state and democracy”. Opposition members, losing an election is not the end of democracy, it is its essence, the Prime Minister said. Leader of Friends of Israel in the Storting, Himanshu Gulati (Frp) says Israeli democracy has proven to be dynamic. Photo: Bård Nafstad / news Leader of Friends of Israel in the Storting, Himanshu Gulati (Frp) says he is excited to see the new government in action. – I would like to wish the new government the best of luck, especially Prime Minister Netanyahu who is back for his sixth term in power. We know him well, but there are several new parties that are involved, and we are closely following that, says Gulati. He says he has faith in Israeli democracy. – Israel has now held five elections in four years, and I am sure that the new government will have to deal with the balance of power in the country. It is a dynamic democracy. Palestinians sit in front of a bulldozer that removes the remains of a building that was hit by an Israeli rocket in Gaza on December 21, 2021. Photo: MOHAMMED SALEM / Reuters Want sanctions Line Khateeb hopes that the international community and Norway will now not remain silent, and compares the situation with the war in Ukraine. Line Khateeb, head of the Palestine Committee. Photo: Birte Bødtker / Palestine Committee in Norway – They must show Israeli politicians that they must also comply with international law. They must be told that they cannot just decide for themselves what is their right and sovereignty in occupied territories. After all, we see how to meet Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian areas. It must also be shown that international law applies to Israel. Khateeb believes that Norway should follow up violations of international law with possible sanctions and stop arms sales to Israel. – There is a goal of increased cooperation, and it is strange that we should reward an occupying power by giving them more contracts and encouraging more cooperation. It does not change the situation. Gulati strongly disagrees with that assessment. – Boycott has always been the answer to the Palestine Committee regardless of what is involved, instead of constructive measures that contribute to peace. The FRP politician believes that Norway should stick to its desire for peace negotiations and a two-state solution.
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Netanyahu is back – Palestinians fear for the future – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
