ISRAELI POLITICS - WELCOME TO THE THUNDERDOME

In his first speech as a Member of Knesset, Naftali Bennett, leader of the HaBayit HaYehudi Party may have opened a door to Centrist coalition while inadvertently slamming the door on a Rightist one.

In his speech Bennett stated:

<em>"We must know that the land of our forefathers is not a piece of real estate, and that there is no need for me to speak of geo-strategic depth to explain why this is important to me.

"I live in Ra'anana and feel safe because my brothers protect me from the mountains of Binyamin and Samaria. There is no room in our divine little piece of land for another country. It won’t happen, but friends, before any discussion on the territories, it must be said that the Land of Israel belongs to the nation of Israel."</em>

 This coming the day after coalition meetings between Prime Minister Netanuyahu and Bennett AND a day after Prime Minister Netanyahu said this:

 "I believe that a framework to peace (with the Palestinians) is what I outlined in my speech in Bar-Ilan University – two states for two peoples: A demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state." 

But that's not all... in a response to the Prime Minister,  Yair Shamir an incoming MK from Likud-Betainu had this to say:

“Netanyahu’s Bar Ilan speech was never approved by the Likud party or the government of Israel. The idea of a two state solution is impossible to implement,” Shamir said.

 And who exactly is Yair Shamir:

Shamir, the son of the late Likud prime minister Yitzhak Shamir, is a former IAF pilot. He said he would be very pleased to serve as defense minister in the next government, but is widely expected to be given a senior domestic portfolio. He is the No. 2 to Avigdor Liberman on the Yisrael Beytenu list, and No. 4 on the joint Likud-Beytenu list; Liberman, the former foreign minister, will not sit in the cabinet while he’s fighting fraud and breach of trust charges...

At the same time we have potential partner to Likud-Beitanu, Yesh Atid's leader Yair Lapid, saying the following: 

“Both parties understand that they have to go back to the Roadmap,” Lapid told American Jewish leaders in Jerusalem – a reference to an outline laid out by president George W. Bush. “We have to jumpstart [the process]… People have to understand that we’re talking about the two-state solution.”...

 ....“I mean, I look at these territories as part of Greater Israel, but I understand that this dream might be postponed for another 1,000 years,” he said, “because the other option is having a country that is not Jewish. I want to live in a Jewish country and in order to live in a Jewish country, I have to somehow… I don’t want to say get rid of, but separate myself from the 3.3 million Palestinians we have right now between the [Mediterranean] Sea and the eastern border of Israel.”

 SO... what do we have.. let's sort some of this out as Secretary of State Kerry heads there this month and with  President Obama heading over to the Middle East on March 20th. Oh yeah and Outgoing Defense Minister Ehud Barak paid Washington a visit the other day. Only thing is that no one knows why, but he is meeting with American Defense AND Intelligence personal. Oh yeah, and while this is happening PM's chief negotiator with the Palestinians Isaac Molcho AND National Security Adviser Yaakov Amridor are also heading to Washington.

Ok.. back to sorting... We have the P.M trying to build a coalition. To his left, he has potential partners in Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid), Tzipi Livni (HaTanuah), and Shaul Mofaz (Kadima), all of whom insist on a Two State solution and all of home say that it is important. 

To his Right (and within his own party) he has the Right Wing of his party who won't back him up on this and who feel that a Two State Solution cannot get done and he has Naftali Bennett (a natural coalition partner to Likud-Betainu but Bibi is reported to not stand the man). He can make a coalition with Yesh Atid, HaTanuah and Kadima and possibly Labor IF he gets serious about the Peace Talks. OR he can make a coalition with Yesh Atid and HaBayit HaYehudi, would be immediately at odds over Two States. OR he can spin Right, and co-opt the religious parties but then he runs into issues where the Haredi Draft comes into play.

I am not sure how any of this is going to produce a stable government or one that lasts for more than 15 minutes.

For political observers the Israeli "Thunderdome" is in full swing. Grab some popcorn and watch the show. It should produce some very interesting scenes.