The recent election in Israel gave an additional green light for the annexation of Palestinian land by Israel. US President Donald Trump has already given his full support for additional annexations with his “peace plan.” It is very strange that one country would give another country the “right” to violate international law. And it is even more strange that there was no serious outcry elsewhere in the world. Of course, neither Russia nor China has the moral right nor the interest in arguing withTrump’s policies. And Europe? Well, unfortunately there is no figure like Bruno Kreisky, Willy Brandt, or Olof Palme inside the European Union today who would fight for an oppressed and discriminated people. In addition to this lack of progressive leaders, we find more and more politicians who explicitly link criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been especially successful in winning the support of the right-wing, Islamophobic forces in Europe who block even moderate criticism of Israeli policies. In addition, the recent resolution of the Austrian Parliament demonstrated a one-sided approach.
Now the Israeli population has given Netanyahu - in spite of the forthcoming trial on corruption charges - its full support. This all happened due to the fact that there was no real alternative political force or personality who proposed a clear peace strategy. Similar to the recent support in the last British elections for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, voters in Israel wanted to get “things” done. They seem to be annoyed not only with domestic cleavages but also by a lack of progress by any peace endeavors of the past.
The Palestinian leadership also had no convincing idea or policy to gain support from its own people, especially the young. Showing maps of how the different proposals over time has reduced the land reserved for Palestinians highlights the injustice done to Palestinians, but it shows also the incapability of the Palestinian leadership to win support for its policies.
The only positive result of the recent elections is the increased number of members of the Arab Alliance. Israel’s newspaper Haaretz spoke about “historic gains, overshadowed by Netanyahu’s surge.” It remains to be seen how the stronger representation of the Arab Alliance can influence Israeli politics. And we might also wonder how the planned annexation policy will cope with the increased number of Palestinians within Israel. Will the future bring an even stronger system of apartheid? Neither the Trump plan nor the recent elections brought us any closer to peace.
Dr. Hannes Swoboda, President of the International Institute for Peace (IP), started his career in urban politics in Vienna and was elected member of the European Parliament in 1996. He was Vice President of the Social Democrat Group until 2012 und then President until 2014. He was particularly engaged in foreign, enlargement, and neighborhood policies. Swoboda is also President of the Vienna Institute for International Economics, the Centre of Architecture, the University for Applied Science - Campus Vienna, and the Sir Peter Ustinov Institute.