The Economist 29Feb2020

38 TheEconomistFebruary 29th 2020

1

T

he blueprints had been gathering

dust for 25 years. No Israeli leader, not

even Binyamin Netanyahu, prime minister

for the past decade, was willing to face the

international criticism that would follow

from building 3,500 new homes near Jeru-

salem, in the occupied West Bank. The new

district would cut off the Palestinian part of

Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank,

ending any possibility of a viable Palestin-

ian state with Jerusalem as its capital. So

the plans were put on the shelf—until Feb-

ruary 25th, when Mr Netanyahu publicly

dusted them off.

It is no mystery why Mr Netanyahu

changed his mind. Israel is holding a gen-

eral election on March 2nd, its third in a

year. The last two, in April and September

2019, failed to produce a government. The

prime minister thinks the only way for his

bloc of nationalist and religious parties to

eke out a majority this time is by mobilis-

ing the base. He is under pressure from his

main rival, Benny Gantz. The former gen-

eral and leader of Blue and White, Israel’s

largest party, has been pursuing “soft-

right” voters by matching many of Mr Net-

anyahu’s campaign promises.

Israelis appear exhausted by a cam-

paign that has been running, on and off,

since December 2018, when the first of the

three elections was called. That one left Mr

Netanyahu one seat short of a majority. His

coalition lost seats in the September re-

run, which produced a majority opposed to

his rule. Still, Mr Gantz was unable to form

a government. Since then, despite Mr Net-

anyahu’s gimmicks, such as promising to

decriminalise the recreational use of can-

nabis, and Mr Gantz’s rightward shift, the

polls have hardly budged.

The main issue is still Mr Netanyahu

himself. Israel’s longest-serving prime

minister is a polarising figure. He has kept

Israel safe, forged closer ties to Arab states

and overseen a flourishing economy. But in

November he was indicted on charges of

bribery and fraud for allegedly receiving il-

legal gifts and trading political favours for

positive news coverage. His trial will begin

on March 17th. Mr Netanyahu denies any

wrongdoing and blames his legal troubles

on lefty prosecutors, police and journalists

(though he appointed the police chief who

investigated him and the attorney-general

who charged him). Critics accuse him of

sowing division and demonising Arabs for

political gain.

Mr Gantz, a bland campaigner, has

struggled to fire up voters—or bring the op-

position together. The parties that want to

see Mr Netanyahu go range from Yisrael

Beitenu, a fiercely nationalist outfit, to the

Joint List, an alliance of Arab-majority par-

ties. There is no prospect of them sitting to-

gether in a coalition. Mr Gantz says Arab

parties “won’t be a part of my government”.

Israeli politics

Take three

JERUSALEM

Will Israel’s third election in a year finally produce a government?

Middle East & Africa

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