Israel Struggles To Overcome Evergrowing Challenges

Israel’s government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is today facing several serious challenges, from the tense situation in Palestinian territory and pressure from the West over military support for Ukraine, to the political crisis with the Israeli left and the stalled normalization process with the Arab world.

On June 26, the Israeli government advanced plans to build some 5,700 new homes for settlers in the occupied West Bank. The decision, which was made by the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Supreme Planning Council, raised tensions with Palestinians at a time of rising violence in the occupied territory.

The new houses are in various stages of planning and construction, according to Israeli media reports.
The announcement comes despite pressure from the United States to stop settlement expansion in the West Bank, which it sees as an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians.

A U.S. national security spokesperson denounced the expansion of the settlements, saying that it “undermines the geographic viability of a two-state solution, exacerbates tensions, and further harms trust between the two parties”.

Violence between Palestinians and Israelis has flared since Netanyahu was re-elected last year. However, the U.S. stance on the expansion of settlements in the West Bank may be an attempt to blackmail or pressure Israel into backtracking on its decision not to supply advanced weapons systems to Ukraine.

Despite facing much pressure from the U.S. and other backers of the Kiev regime, Israel has thus far limited its assistance to Ukraine to non-lethal equipment out of fear of a Russian response.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal that was published on June 29, Netanyahu said that Israel can’t supply advanced weapon systems to Ukraine, like the Iron Dome, because of concerns that they might end up in Iran’s possession.

The prime minister revealed in the same interview that he is dropping one of the most contentious parts of his judicial overhaul plans which caused a confrontation with the Israeli political left earlier this year. Netanyahu told the newspaper he was no longer seeking to give parliament the authority to overturn Supreme Court rulings.

Netanyahu’s attempts to dodge internal and external pressure came amid reports of efforts to resume the Israeli-Arab normalization process which came to a halt after the Abraham Accord was signed more than two years ago.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on June 28 that establishing diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel is difficult but possible, reasserting that Washington is pushing to normalize ties between the two countries. Several reports talked about secret negotiations between the two countries earlier this year.

The political challenges facing the Israeli government, coupled with the security challenges posed by the Iran-led Axis of Resistance, could push Netanyahu and his allies to adopt even more radical policies on internal and external issues.

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