Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political rival, Benny Gantz, have signed an agreement to form an emergency unity government.

The deal will see the pair rotating the leadership of the country, with Mr Netanyahu going first as PM.

It brings political certainty to Israel after three inconclusive elections and a year of political paralysis.

Both men had faced calls to avoid a fourth election and form a coalition to help tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

The Israeli health ministry has reported more than 13,700 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 177 associated deaths.

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Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gantz signed the coalition deal at the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem on Monday night, as Israel remained in near-total lockdown.

“I promised the State of Israel a national emergency government that will act to save the lives and livelihoods of Israeli citizens,” Mr Netanyahu tweeted afterwards.

Mr Gantz wrote: “We have prevented a fourth election. We will protect democracy. We will fight coronavirus and care for all Israel’s citizens.”

The agreement will see positions in the government shared between Mr Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party and Mr Gantz’s centrist Blue and White alliance.

More than 13,700 Israelis have so far tested positive for Covid-19 – AFP

Mr Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, will remain in post for 18 months, during which time his delayed trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust is due to start. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Mr Gantz, a former military chief who was elected speaker of parliament three weeks ago, will start off by serving as deputy prime minister and defence minister, before taking over as prime minister in October 2021 for another 18 months.

No legislation unrelated to the battle against the coronavirus will be brought before parliament for a period of six months without consent, according to the agreement.

However, Mr Netanyahu will be allowed to advance legislation to annex Jewish settlements and other land in the occupied West Bank that the Palestinians want as part of a future state – in line with the peace plan unveiled by US President Donald Trump in January. The settlements are widely considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

The BBC’s Tom Bateman in Jerusalem says the agreement marks an end to one of the most turbulent periods in Israeli political history and amounts to a victory for Mr Netanyahu, who stays in office despite a criminal indictment and a country deeply divided over his leadership.

Mr Gantz, our correspondent adds, has ditched half of the political alliance he built over three elections – it had fractured under the strain of Mr Netanyahu’s manoeuvres, with the coronavirus emergency providing a backdrop of urgency.

Hundreds of Israelis protested on Sunday against a deal keeping Mr Netanyahu in office -Reuters

Some of Mr Gantz’s former allies accused him of betrayal by joining his former adversary in government.

He had pledged not to serve under Mr Netanyahu because he was facing criminal charges. But he backtracked last month, saying that “these are not normal times and they call for unusual decisions”.

Tamar Zandberg of the left-wing Meretz party was quoted by the Jerusalem Post newspaper as saying: “The man who was supposed to be the prime minister who would bring change decided to raise a white flag instead of winning.”

“This is not an emergency government, but there is an emergency situation for our democracy,” she added.

US ambassador David Friedman said he was “delighted” by the agreement.

“The United States looks forward to working closely with the new gov’t to advance our shared values and interests bilaterally and across the world,” he tweeted.

But Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh condemned the formation of “an Israeli annexation government”, which he said meant “ending the two-state solution and the dismantling of the rights of the people of Palestine as established under international law and resolutions”.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-52358479

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Israel’s Iron Dome system intercepts rockets fired from the Gaza Strip over Ashkelon on Sunday | Photo: REUTERS/ Amir Cohen

Cautious assessments late Monday said that the latest round of violence between Israel and the terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip is behind us. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad sent Israel open and covert messages that it was finished with its violent reprisal, and Israel had made it clear from the outset that it would adhere to its policy of quiet in exchange for quiet.

It was mainly Egyptian and UN mediators who were behind the efforts to restore calm, as well as the Qatari envoy to Gaza. Hamas also stressed that it was not seeking further escalation, but since Sunday, it was juggling an awkward policy: on one hand, Hamas wanted to avoid taking part in the violence because it didn’t want to launch direct attacks on Israel, while on the other hand, it did nothing to restrain the PIJ.

That posed a dilemma for Israel – what should it do about Hamas? Israel has no desire to fight the largest and strongest terrorist faction in Gaza, but by not taking action Israel veered away from its policy of striking Hamas to make it bring the other, smaller terrorist groups into line. Eventually, pragmatism won out – since no one on the Israeli side wanted to see an escalation (certainly not days before the election) – a decision was made to limit the scope of the response to the PIJ.

But even in its response to the PIJ, which was directly responsible for the latest round of violence, Israel considered its actions carefully. The attack in Damascus on Sunday night was not intended to kill Islamic Jihad members (unlike a similar attack in November, in which – according to foreign reports – Israel attempted to kill Akram Ajouri, the deputy commander of the PIJ), bu to take out infrastructure. In the many strikes it launched in the Gaza Strip, Israel did its best to prevent widespread casualties and keep the escalation in check.

At any rate, the PIJ launched most of its rockets from ditches, using timers, so it was impossible to attack the terrorists in real-time. This time, too, the upper echelon of the PIJ went underground for fear of their lives, as did many top Hamas commanders. So Israel focused its strikes on sites where weapons were manufactured as well as other strategic locations for the PIJ.

The PIJ was also careful to keep the fighting in check. It aimed its rockets at western Negev communities and nearby towns, and avoided more distant cities such as Beersheba or Ashdod – and especially steered clear of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, even though it has demonstrated that it is capable of reaching Israel’s biggest coastal population enclave. The PIJ’s restraint shows that the organization wanted to keep the flames low in the latest round of fighting and avoid the risk of losing control or a massive Israeli response.

Like always, Israel’s air defenses provided its citizens in the south with strong protection, intercepting 90% of the rockets fired. That number is somewhat lower than the interception rate during Operation Black Belt, which followed the death of PIJ leader Baha Abu al-Ata in November 2019 (which saw a 94% interception rate), but it’s still impressive. Israel has time to plan its responses in advance, rather than operating under the stress of high numbers of wounded civilians in the western Negev.

On Monday, Israel realized that the PIJ wanted to bring the violence to a close. It started when Israel targeted a terrorist cell that was placing a bomb near the border fence. That incident turned into violent clashes, during which Israel removed the body of one of the dead terrorists – an action that was seen as a humiliation for the terrorist factions in Gaza, prompting them to respond. It is also likely that the PIJ’s desire for a ceasefire was helped by Israel’s decision to shut down all border crossings and the Gazans’ fishing zone.

But even if a ceasefire has been reached, it will most likely prove tenuous. Hamas wants a broader deal, but the PIJ – which has its own independent and anarchistic policies, backed by Iran – will keep throwing wrenches in the works. It’s doubtful Israel can continue to ignore that for much longer and allow the organization to keep dictating the terms of life for residents of southern Israel.

After the elections, Israel will have to decide on a policy and make it clear to Hamas (and through Hamas, to the other terrorist groups in Gaza) that the games are over, and if they won’t agree to a long-term ceasefire and deal, Israel will have to go all the way and secure them through force.

Source: https://www.israelhayom.com/2020/02/25/the-gaza-strip-could-go-up-in-flames-at-any-time/

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