The Wall Street Journal - 20.09.2019

A10| Friday, September 20, 2019 ** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin and retired Gen. Benny Gantz joining hands on Thursday in Jerusalem.

ABIR SULTAN/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK

most votes, could become Is-

rael’s first Arab opposition

leader in the event that, as Mr.

Gantz wants, Likud and Blue

and White unite in a govern-

ment.

Mr. Netanyahu called for

new elections after failing to

form a government in April,

with the hope of forming a 61-

seat right-wing and religious

coalition, which on Thursday

he conceded will be impossible.

Arab-Israeli lawmakers

have been in every parliament

since Israel’s founding, but

have never served in the gov-

ernment to avoid appearing to

support military operations

against Palestinians, and many

Jewish politicians have for-

sworn working with them. Mr.

Gantz hasn’t definitively said

how he would work with Arab

parties, while Mr. Netanyahu

has ruled it out.

Mr. Odeh has signaled an

openness to sitting with Mr.

Gantz’s government under cer-

tain conditions, a prospect some

Arab voters said they support.

“The Arab people them-

selves indeed want to be part

of a coalition,” said Afif Abu

Much, an Arab political activ-

ist who works in Israel’s tech

sector. “But the Knesset mem-

bers themselves are still afraid

to do so.”

Israel’s political dynamics

around growing Arab power

are potentially polarizing. Arab

Israeli parties’ political plat-

form diverges from those of

most Jewish Israeli parties be-

cause it calls for ending Is-

rael’s occupation of the West

Bank and Gaza, creating a Pal-

estinian state with East Jeru-

salem as its capital, disman-

tling settlements and allowing

Palestinian refugees the right

to return to what is now Israel.

Mr. Netanyahu and other

politicians have framed Arab-

Israeli politicians as enemies

who would undermine Israel’s

security and Jewish character.

Mr. Netanyahu’s warnings

about Arab voters appeared to

backfire this time, driving

some like Hamza Huwajah, 52

years old, of Jaffa, to vote for

Blue and White instead of the

Joint List. “The most important

thing is that Bibi will be gone.”

NAZARETH, Israel—A surge
in Arab voter turnout was a
major factor in dealing Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Ne-
tanyahu an electoral setback,
setting up a potentially his-
toric moment for Arab politi-
cal power in the country.
Israel’s Arab voters boosted
their turnout to 60% on Tues-
day, up from 49% in April’s
election, with their support for
Benny Gantz’s Blue and White
party translating to the equiva-
lent of one seat, according to
an analysis by the Israel De-
mocracy Institute, a Jerusalem
think tank. Mr. Gantz declared
victory Thursday after unoffi-
cial results showed him leading
Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud party by
two seats, though he still needs
a formal mandate to govern the
Knesset, the Israeli parliament.
The Arab turnout reflected
the voters’ desire to cast out
Mr. Netanyahu, who has used
Arab politicians as a foil and
waged what Arab parties de-
scribed as a racist campaign
over the summer. The boost
also illustrates how Arab Israe-
lis—a fifth of the country—are
grappling with their place in Is-
raeli society and politics, with a
more-educated, connected gen-
eration demanding more from
their leaders and a greater say
in the country’s affairs.
Ayman Odeh, the leader of
the Joint List, a group of Arab
parties that received the third-

BYFELICIASCHWARTZ
ANDDOVLIEBER

Israel Election Showed Arab Voters’ Clout

Voters lined up at a polling station in the northern Israeli Arab town of Sakhnin on Tuesday.

AHMAD GHARABLI/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Israel’s Channel 12 pro-

jected Blue and White leading

Likud 33 to 31 seats with 98%

of the vote counted.

The projection showed Mr.

Gantz’s bloc of centrist, left-

wing and Arab parties ap-

peared set to get 57 seats,

while Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition

of right-wing and religious

parties would get 55 seats in

Israel’s 120-seat parliament.

Either would need the help

of the small party Yisrael Beit-

einu, which looks set to get

eight seats and is calling for a

unity government between Li-

kud and Blue and White.

Messrs. Gantz and Netan-

yahu met briefly on Thursday

and shook hands at a memo-

rial service for Shimon Peres,

a former prime minister and

president who died in 2016.

“Benny, we must form a

broad national unity govern-

ment today,” Mr. Netanyahu

said in a statement, address-

ing his rival. “The nation ex-

pects of us, from the two of

us, that we’ll be responsible

and work together.”

While the statement wasn’t

a concession, it marked a de-

parture for a prime minister

who values strength but

seemed to be on the defensive.

“Netanyahu is no longer the

WORLD NEWS

hearings, if Mr. Gantz would

agree to let him go first, which

seems unlikely.

Mr. Gantz, who was the first

to call for a unity government,

rejected Mr. Netanyahu’s pro-

posed power-sharing agree-

ment Thursday. His party

called on Mr. Netanyahu’s Li-

kud party and the religious

parties to ditch Mr. Netanyahu.

“I intend to form a broad

and liberal unity government

under my leadership,” Mr.

Gantz said at a news confer-

ence, adding he had already

begun trying to bring one to-

gether that represents “a real

change in priorities.”

“We will not yield to any

dictates,” Mr. Gantz said. Blue

and White’s No. 2 official, Yair

Lapid, was blunter: “If Netan-

yahu moves aside, we’ll have a

unity government.”

Mr. Netanyahu said in a

statement he was disappointed

by Mr. Gantz’s remarks.

The prospect of some form

of unity government coalesced

as the election results came

into clearer focus Thursday.

Netanyahu we knew,” said An-

shel Pfeffer, a Netanyahu biog-

rapher and longtime Israeli

political journalist. “He’s no

longer this guy that’s all pow-

erful, that everyone is afraid

of and can do anything.”

Israeli President Reuven

Rivlin, whose largely ceremo-

nial position accords him the

important task of charging a

politician with leading gov-

ernment-formation talks, is

expected to speak to the

country’s political parties in

the coming days. He would

likely choose either Mr. Ne-

tanyahu or Mr. Gantz based

on how many recommenda-

tions he gets for each man

from the parties.

On Thursday, Mr. Netan-

yahu pointed to the last suc-

cessful unity government in

the 1980s, when Likud and a

center-left alliance shared

power for several years. Mr.

Peres was prime minister for

two years before handing

power to Likud’s Yitzhak

Shamir in 1986.

“Shimon and Shamir agreed

to work together to navigate

Israel’s path to safety,” he said.

Mr. Netanyahu said his

group of parties would go into

coalition talks with Mr. Gantz

together. Likud and the other

parties in the group said

Thursday they wouldn’t join

any government that doesn’t

include all of them.

That is one of several condi-

tions that could pose difficul-

ties. Together Messrs. Netan-

yahu and Gantz would have

enough seats in their parties

alone to form a government. But

with Mr. Netanyahu insisting on

the presence of the religious

parties and Mr. Gantz having

said he wouldn’t sit in a govern-

ment with Mr. Netanyahu, such

a combination is unlikely.

Other options would almost

certainly need the seats of Yis-

rael Beiteinu, whose leader,

Avigdor Lieberman, has said

he wouldn’t sit with any reli-

gious parties.

Messrs. Gantz and Netan-

yahu have traded sharp blows

on the campaign trail, with each

calling the other unfit for office.

ing to prison. For the first
time in a decade, he no longer
appeared to be in control of
the direction of Israeli politics,
and even if he survives, he
could emerge a much dimin-
ished figure.
He faces a pretrial hearing
next month on corruption
charges, which he denies, and
could be forced to resign from
parliament if indicted while not
prime minister.
Mr. Netanyahu hinted
Thursday that he would be
willing to rotate as prime min-
ister with Mr. Gantz, an ar-
rangement that could allow
him to retain the premiership
and the potential protection it
offers through any corruption

Continued from Page One

Challenger

Declares

Victory

TEL AVIV—Retired Gen.
Benny Gantz, possibly weeks
away from being Israel’s next
leader, would likely follow the
same path as Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu on
strengthening his country’s al-
liance with the U.S., securing
its borders and countering
Iran at a time of crisis in the
Middle East.
But Mr. Gantz, 60 years old,
has pledged to steer a more
unifying course for Israeli so-
ciety, scaling back religion’s
place in daily life and concen-
trating less power in the
hands of the prime minister. A
Gantz-led government, should
one emerge, could have impli-
cations for Israel’s relations
with American Jews and any
future peace negotiations with
the Palestinians.
Such a coalition would also
return the premiership to the
hands of a celebrated Israeli
military figure. Some of the
country’s most heralded lead-
ers, from David Ben Gurion to
Menachem Begin and Ariel
Sharon, share that heritage.
Mr. Gantz served as the head
of Israel’s military from 2011
to 2015, while Mr. Netanyahu
was the prime minister.
Mr. Gantz campaigned on
offering a clean break from Mr.
Netanyahu, whom he criticized
for being corrupted by too
many years in office. The
prime minister could be in-

dicted soon after a hearing

next month on charges of brib-

ery and fraud, which he denies.

“We will bring about a real

change in priorities, and heal

Israeli society in all its parts,”

Mr. Gantz said on Thursday in

a news conference where he

declared victory, without being

asked to form a government.

Mr. Gantz doesn’t have the

same tight bond with Presi-

dent Trump as Mr. Netanyahu,

who campaigned with posters

of himself and a smiling U.S.

commander in chief. But Mr.

Trump has described Mr.

Gantz as a good person and

said Wednesday that the U.S.

relationship is with Israel, not

any one leader.

Mr. Gantz has said he

thought the Obama adminis-

tration could have reached a

better nuclear deal with Iran

in 2015, from which President

Trump withdrew at Mr. Netan-

yahu’s urging. But at an event

in Washington that year, the

retired general said he also

saw “the half-full part of the

glass”—that the deal would

keep Iran 10 or 15 years away

from a nuclear weapon “with

the right price.”

He has wholeheartedly sup-

ported Mr. Netanyahu’s cam-

paign against Iran, as Israel

has launched strikes against

Tehran’s positions and those of

its allies in Syria, Iraq and

Lebanon. “I am standing shoul-

der-to-shoulder with Prime

Minister Netanyahu in the

fight against Iran’s aggression.

I am certain he will do the

same when I will be the prime

minister of Israel,” Mr. Gantz

said earlier this year at the

Munich Security Conference.

If Mr. Gantz gets a mandate

to form a government from Is-

rael’s president, he would

need to pull together a coali-

tion among Israel’s fractious

political parties to become

prime minister. He doesn’t ap-

pear to have the votes to form

a ruling coalition with parties

to the left and the Arab par-

ties. That leaves him with few

options besides a broad, cross-

party coalition, often called a

unity government, which may

involve some sort of power-

sharing arrangement with Mr.

Netanyahu himself. Mr. Gantz

campaigned on a pledge to

form a secular unity govern-

ment without Mr. Netanyahu.

Mr. Gantz’s rise over the

past nine months catapults a

political novice to the cusp of

Israel’s highest office. His

closest political allies are, like

himself, former generals who

have taken hard lines on Is-

rael’s national security. He

also counts Yair Lapid, a popu-

lar former television personal-

ity, as an ally who covers his

flank on social issues, such as

putting more of a barrier be-

tween Judaism and Israel’s

secular culture.

Analysts said Mr. Gantz

would most likely have to find

a way to govern in some way

with Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud

party, but getting to such an

arrangement would be a chal-

lenge. Mr. Gantz pledged not to

sit with Mr. Netanyahu, while

Likud members pledged not to

ditch the prime minister.

“The stumbling block is ei-

ther Likud has to get rid of

Netanyahu or Gantz has to

swallow Netanyahu,” said Re-

uven Hazan, a political-science

professor at Hebrew Univer-

sity in Jerusalem.

Mr. Gantz has shown he

likes to avoid political conflict,

Mr. Hazan said: “He tries to

work things out.”

Mr. Gantz has met with U.S.

Ambassador to Israel David

Friedman, but hasn’t met

Jared Kushner or Jason Green-

blatt, the other members of

the Trump administration’s

peace team.

The difference between Mr.

Gantz and Mr. Netanyahu, Pal-

estinian Authority Prime Min-

ister Mohammad Shtayyeh

said on Tuesday, is like that

“between Pepsi-Cola and

Coca-Cola.”

BYFELICIASCHWARTZ

Gantz Offers

Same Policy,

Softer Tone

In the Balance

ProjectedseatswoninIsrael’sparliament*

*With 98% of the vote counted

Source: Israel’s Channel 12

Right-religiousbloc(BenjaminNetanyahu)

Uncommitted(AvigdorLieberman)

Center-left-Arabbloc(BennyGantz)

57 8 55

61 seatsneededforamajority

the tumult with a stable democ-

racy.

Mr. Ben Ali ascended to the

top of the Tunisian security

state, becoming head of mili-

tary intelligence and director of

national security. In the 1980s

he became minister of defense,

minister of the interior, and fi-

nally prime minister. He took

power in a bloodless coup in

1987, ruling from then until his

ouster.

As a senior security official,

minister, and later as president,

Mr. Ben Ali oversaw a security

state with a well-documented

record of torture, rape, and ex-

trajudicial killing. A truth com-

mission established after his ex-

ile gathered tens of thousands

of testimonies that accused the

security services overseen by

Mr. Ben Ali of systematic

abuses including beating and

electrocuting detainees.

Early in his time in power, he

instituted some economic re-

forms that diversified Tunisia’s

economy and contributed to

growth, but growth slowed dur-

ing his last decade in power.

CAIRO—Tunisia’s former

president Zine El Abidine Ben

Ali, an autocrat who ruled the

country for more than two de-

cades before his ouster in 2011

at the beginning of the Arab

Spring uprisings, has died at

the age of 83.

Mr. Ben Ali, who fled into ex-

ile in Saudi Arabia after weeks

of street protests against his

rule, died after struggling with

an unspecified illness, accord-

ing to Tunisia’s official TAP

news agency.

His death in exile comes the

same week that the North Afri-

can country held its second-

ever free presidential election

in a display of how Tunisia

transformed into a democracy

following the former presi-

dent’s ouster.

In December 2010, a young

fruit vendor set himself on fire,

killing himself in protest of ha-

rassment by a police officer.

The act sparked protests that

gathered strength until they

forced Mr. Ben Ali to flee into

exile the following month.

The Tunisian uprising in-

spired protests across the Mid-

dle East that would later be-

come known collectively as the

Arab Spring. The revolts top-

pled the leaders of three other

countries and triggered a series

of civil wars. Tunisia was the

only country to emerge from

BYJAREDMALSIN

ANDAMIRAEL-FEKKI

Tunisian Ex-Leader

Ben Ali Dies at 83

The longtime

autocrat was ousted

at the start of the

Arab Spring revolts.