‘Slight reprieve’ for Netanyahu as Knesset rejects dissolution bill • FRANCE 24 English

now the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition has survived an oppositionbacked effort to dissolve parliament as lawmakers rejected a bill that could have paved the way for snap elections 61 voted against 53 in favor The opposition had introduced that bill hoping to force elections with the help of ultraorththodox parties angry at Netanyahu over the contentious issue of conscription for deeply religious Jews See ultra orthodox parties though still propping up Netanyahu’s government after earlier threatening to back the motion It comes as criticism of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu’s war in Gaza is mounting There are charges of genocide and war crimes coming from foreign leaders and also from several former Israeli prime ministers Opinion polls in Israel itself also bad for uh Netanyahu Well Philip Tulla international affairs editor is with me here on set Philip it appears that every uh way Netanyahu looks there appears to be trouble Well he’s got a slight reprieve here uh with this vote overnight which I think will come as uh a relief to the Israeli prime minister because he could have faced early elections and that meant pretty much that he would lose So he now has another breathing period if you like But it was only uh a very uh small victory for him 61 votes against 53 in favor So just by the skin of his teeth he’s pulled through it and his coalition uh is weakened as a result of that vote But it was basically uh the Orthodox Jews who have agreed to uh sanctions being lifted against deserters not going into the army or refuses to uh take part in uh army activities which is something that they were asking for So uh Benjamin Netanyahu with some good news today but when you look at the general situation uh in Israel it’s not looking good for him right now If you look at the situation in the war in Gaza for example uh 55,223 Palestinians dead since the start of the hostilities on the 7th of October uh 80% are civilian victims and 2.1 million people facing famine Uh that’s according to figures put forward by the UNHCR and other humanitarian groups Uh 90% of buildings in the Gaza Strip are said to have been reduced to rubble or uh really destroyed So the bottom line here is that there are growing calls for Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza Netanyahu is doesn’t show any signs of that We’re still a long way off from a ceasefire agreement uh and he is being accused by many in Israel of wanting to prolong the war to keep his own position safe in power as prime minister because if he falls from grace as prime minister is out of office he then faces corruption charges and that pressure has grown in recent weeks as a result of the hostage uh situation uh and it’s putting many Netanyahu under increased pressure not only from the population in Israel who are not agreeing with what he’s doing but also from his own government and from his own backers on far right in Israel I mentioned briefly at the top their opinion polls What are they actually showing in Israel Well they’re not good I mean they’re not good news And if you look at just one of them that I pulled out for you which was organized by the group Statista they say that only 41% of Israelis have a positive opinion of Benjamin Netanyahu with 58% saying that they don’t agree with the way he’s handling the war in Gaza Uh as I said the hostages is really uh the key demand here They should be liberated Many saying this should have happened months ago even a year ago Why are so many hostages still being held uh in the Garta Strip 55 hostages are said to be in there right now with at least 32 of those hostages reported to be killed uh out of 148 who were originally captured on the 7th of October Uh and another charge which has been uh raised against Benjamin Netanyahu not only from within Israel but from outside from humanitarian organizations and from the United Nations uh special committee and Amnesty International saying that genocide is taking place in the Gaza Strip because of the large-scale killing a hunger being used as a weapon uh in war the destruction of the civilian infrastructure and attacks on healthcare workers So all of these charges are mounting up against Benjamin Netanyahu and he is finding that he is being not only criticized at home but also by being criticized overseas and all that as well as Donald Trump has snubbed Benjamin Netanyahu moving ahead with those as we’ve been talking about at the top of the program those nuclear talks with Iran Well there are a couple of uh issues uh this week which are interesting to pinpoint One of them is of course the Iranian nuclear issue Uh and the Israelis have always favored uh launching attacks against Iran saying there’s a window of opportunity now because uh Hezbollah has been weakened Hamas is also seriously weakened Uh the Houthi rebels as well with these are three of Iran’s proxies So it’s time now for us to try to hammer Iran itself and launch attacks against those nuclear installations The Iranians are saying that that is something uh that they want they don’t want and they want to continue these negotiations with the United States We have another round coming up on Sunday but it depends how these negotiations uh turn out As you were saying before uh the uh Americans are saying that they’re pulling out some of their personnel from Iraq and other sensitive areas in the Middle East because they fear that these talks may go nowhere But is that a negotiating tactic to put more pressure on the Iranians But one thing is for sure uh Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu don’t see eye to eye right now about what the right move forward is And one other issue which is also interesting to uh bring up right now is the uh conference next week the UN conference to discuss a two-state solution to uh the Middle East And for the first time the Trump administration is putting pressure on uh those countries that are going to take part in these talks Uh most notably France uh Great Britain and Canada uh saying that you must not recognize a two-state solution because that would be counterproductive to try to work out a solution to the war in Gaza and that the United States I’ll quote you’ll be seen as acting in opposition to US foreign policy interests and could face diplomatic consequences Well the reaction from that uh to that from uh those countries and especially from France is that that is a bullying technique and they will not stand for it But uh pressure also not to accept this two-state solution in Israel Uh so that could pander to what Benjamin Netanyahu and above all his far-right coalition are looking uh to try to achieve

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition survived an opposition-backed effort to dissolve parliament on Thursday, as lawmakers rejected a bill that could have paved the way for snap elections. But despite the victory, the “general situation in Israel is not looking good for Netanyahu’s government”, says France 24’s Philip Turle.
#Israel #Gaza #Netanyahu

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6 comments

  2. When it comes to choosing the right path vs following the barbaric Western path, the West always chooses the latter. The conference will be another fizz – nothing but air.

  3. macron is a powerfull voice in this mess. trump and nuttyahu are the same evil. hopefully nuttyahu is gone this year for good.

  4. If Macron wants to establish France as the new leader of the free world, he needs to recognize Palestine as a state, since he can't be seen as backpaddeling, just because the US said so. If the US didn't say anything, there wouldn't be a need to go through with it, but now…

  5. The United States has dealt a significant blow to democracy (a slogan that America uses against other countries) and the very foundation of international structure by sanctioning the judges of the International Court of Justice, which is essentially considered the judicial arm of the United Nations, leading to the operational collapse of the UN. The United States has been the most law-breaking government in the world since its establishment, and it wants to tell the world that it still calls the shots. Today, it becomes clear that any government that is weak will be consumed in a jungle where the U.S. considers itself the king, and Iran has chosen the right path. Trump is a madman who is floundering like someone drowning in a swamp, trying to save America but only sinking deeper. Trump will end up like Gorbachev, the last president, and cannot save America because it is God's will to end America's many oppressions in the world, and anyone who attempts to help America will drown in that swamp….

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