The obsession with the division and collapse of the Hebrew state dominates the thinking of the Israeli leaders, and their fears are increasing, especially in light of the great escalation of the occupation forces against the Palestinians in the West Bank and warnings of an extreme right-wing government that Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu is forming.
The latest warnings came from the words of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who said the day before yesterday, Tuesday, that Israel is witnessing a dangerous defection that threatens to undermine it from within.
Before him, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak had expressed his fears of the imminent demise of Israel before the 80th anniversary of its founding, citing "Jewish history, which states that the Jews did not have a state for more than 80 years except in two exceptional periods."
Muhannad Mustafa, an expert on Israeli affairs, confirmed that the concerns of Israeli leaders are serious, given the political programs of some parties that will participate in the next Netanyahu government, as these parties seek to bring about fundamental changes in the structure of Israeli society and in the political system, which will lead to sharp divisions within Israel. .
It is noticeable that Israeli society tends towards religious Zionism, and even President Herzog and Barak speak with ancient biblical thought, as the professor of international relations, Ahmed Abu Al-Ezz said to the “Beyond the News” program, who also talked about what he considered a new face of Israel in which the struggle for access to power emerges. Zionist religious thought.
Abu Al-Ezz expected a clash of a different kind between the Palestinians and the Israelis under Netanyahu's far-right government, especially since the leader of the far-right "Jewish Power" party, Itamar Ben Gvir, wants to put the border guards under his command, indicating that the Israeli settlers have begun to establish their own militias. .
Settlement construction to change the status quo
In light of the current Israeli scene, the expert on Israeli affairs does not rule out an escalation in the West Bank, which has been subjected for more than a year to a military campaign in which the occupation soldiers crossed all red lines, and the occupation army will be given more support to exercise more repression against the Palestinians.
There is an Israeli strategy - the expert continues - to prevent any Palestinian resistance in order to preserve calm in the West Bank, stressing that the Israeli authorities will focus on settlement construction in order to change the status quo in the West Bank and separate it from the Gaza Strip.
While experts and observers expect an escalation of repression against the Palestinians, some eyes are directed towards Israel's ally, the United States of America, which the "Axios" news site, citing US officials, suggested that it would not cooperate with extremist ministers in the new Israeli government.
The site said that the US ambassador to Israel urged the administration to take a more careful and accurate approach with this government.
Joel Rubin, the former deputy assistant to the US Secretary of State, did not confirm, in his interview with the "Beyond the News" program, the validity of what was reported by the Axios news site, and only said that Netanyahu would be subjected to strong internal pressure from the hard-line members of his next government to be hostile, and expected a clash between the Israeli government. And the US administration, although Biden does not want that, according to the American guest who spoke about a new phase in the relations of the two parties.