This week has seen a series of ups, downs, left, rights and general confusion in the never ending saga that is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The week started on a high note as Palestinian negotiators accepted an Arab League endorsement for the resumption of indirect negotiations. After a long period of ceremonious standing and posturing between Bibi's coalition and the faltering Abbas government in the West Bank, there was finally a glimmer, however faint, of hope that the two sides could capitalize on a unilateral partial settlement building freeze to pursue peace.
However, nothing is ever simple in the Levant. Especially when negotiations and foreign dignitaries are concerned. Vice President and FP envoy Joe Biden arrived in Israel just in time to see up close and personal how the Israeli's play politics. You thought Republicans and Democrats play partisan games?!? Israeli politics is infinitely more complicated...and petty. With 12 political parties represented in the Knesset (Israeli unicameral legislature) and a bevy of fringe parties that did not garner a seat, Israel's politics are fractured and disparate. Netanyahu's current right oriented 5 party coalition includes is held together by its inclusion of the extreme nationalist party of Avigdor Lieberman- Israel's controversial FM, and the right wing, religious Shas party.
Both parties frequently use their wing ability to give a PM candidate a Knesset majority to wring partisan concessions and ministries in a manner that would appall even the most pork-addicted sitting in the House of Representatives.
This week it was Shas's Interior Minister, Eli Yishai, causing the raucous. Without apparent government consent, he announced plans for 1600 new units for Jews in East Jerusalem (East Jerusalem is the planned capital for a Palestinian state and NOT included in the current building freeze). This is not Yishai's first "well timed" press release and can hardly be explained as coincidental.
It is abundantly clear that Yishai intended to cause the uproar. Shas vehemently opposes Israeli concessions in the West Bank and has frequently used its role as a "mid-major" political party to push its agenda on its more centrist coalition partners both behind closed doors, and in the press.
All in all, a frustratingly common display of coalition politics at its worst and a disappointing, yet not unsurprising continuation of Israel's unique ability to sling mud on visiting dignitaries at the most inopportune moments.
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I wanted to clarify myself a bit. I did not write this piece to absolve the Netanyahu government from its role in flaming Israeli-Palestinian tensions by continuing its stated policy of building in East Jerusalem. There is no question that Netanyahu intends to build up until the day of a negotiated agreement, which I feel is both shortsighted and counter productive. I was merely using this incident (I do truly believe that Netanyahu was in the dark about Yishai's planned comments)as an interesting example to shed light on the intricacies of multi party parliamentary maneuvering (esp those of Israeli nature) in a way that is often ignored, or misunderstood by the American public, media and punditry.
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