The days of soft-spoken, peace-seeking Israeli leaders are over, based on the result of the Israeli election. In a panicked appeal to come from behind and claim victory, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to explicitly state anti-Arab and anti-peace slogans to rally his base. The day before the election, Mr Netanyahu dismantled his lip-service support for the two-state solution by telling the world that he would do everything in his power to block the creation of a Palestinian state.
What Mr Netanyahu has accomplished beyond a new mandate is a series of self-created roadblocks for his next term. Having already strained relations with the United States through his open confrontation with president Barack Obama, his statements on Palestinian statehood threaten Israel's relationship with the European Union, the country's largest trading partner. Mr Netanyahu managed to walk across the red lines set by the EU by calling for more settlements and even arguing that settlements like Har Homa, near Bethlehem, were created with the explicit goal of stifling Palestinian growth and "fortifying" Jerusalem.
In the midst of this gloomy reality check about Israel’s real attitude towards peace, there was one extraordinarily bright spot. The Joint List, representing all of the Palestinian parties in the Knesset, registered a resounding 14 seats and third place in the election. The rhetoric of Palestinian unity has been translated into reality and the consequences for Israel’s Palestinian citizens will be historic, given their new access to the levers of power.
This unity must spread to the West Bank and Gaza. Given Mr Netanyahu's acceleration of Israel's isolation in the international community through his rejection of Palestinian statehood, a unified force of Hamas and Fatah would have greater lobbying power with the international community to force Israel to change its behaviour and to bolster the Boycott, Divest and Sanction movement.
For Mr Netanyahu to openly dismiss Palestinian statehood and for that stance to be rewarded handsomely at the ballot box shows that the pressure to solve the Palestinian issue must come from outside. Palestinian unity will help that process. Now that the mask has finally come off in Tel Aviv, pressure must come on Israel to compel it to make a genuine attempt to end the occupation.
