If ever you are seeking an example of the inadequacies of proportional representation, you need only look at Israel where a fragmented parliament has enabled discredited right-wing ideologue Benjamin Netanyahu.
His cabal is not representative of the country, yet Netanyahu has exploited his position ruthlessly. He has abused the international right of self-defence to wage all-out war on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, he has threatened the peace and security of Lebanon, and pursued actions in the wider region which threaten a war of global proportions.
The United States, Russia and China are not mere observers in this conflict, and Netanyahu is astutely playing them off against one another.
The key relationship for Israel is with the United States, which gives it financial and military support alongside diplomatic cover in the United Nations.
Netanyahu knows this well. When he was president, Donald Trump recognised Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, occupied since 1967, and acknowledged Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, moving the US embassy there.
As for President Biden, he has been played by Netanyahu. US support for Israel in the wake of Hamas’s unwarranted attack last October was a given. But Biden has been unable to restrain Netanyahu’s disproportionate response, and he has lost authority because of it. Had he gone ahead with his presidential campaign, there is no question that Biden’s inability to bring Netanyahu to heel would have cost him votes.
As things stand, it has taken voices like Ireland’s and South Africa’s to call Netanyahu to account. The International Criminal Court is investigating Netanyahu and members of his cabinet for crimes against humanity and war crimes.
On the face of it, he has more than a case to answer. The events of this past week alone warrant him being called to justice. At the weekend, more than 80 people were killed when Israeli Defence Forces bombed a school in Gaza city. Residents in the compound, which is home to some 6,000 displaced people, were preparing for dawn prayers when the missiles struck.
The dead were not fighters but children, women, old people – generations wiped out by a callous act. Since July, some 10 schools have been targeted by the Israeli forces, and more than 40,000 have died in the conflict so far, and that is a conservative estimate.
Israel, of course, blames Hamas, and it must take its share of the blame for what is happening there. But Israel cannot dodge culpability. Neither too can the United States – Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was speaking for more than his own people when he called on the US to “put an end to the blind support that leads to the killing of thousands of innocent civilians”.
Netanyahu’s disregard for President Biden was fuelled in part by a belief that his buddy Trump would soon occupy the Oval Office once again. While that prospect has not gone away, it is certainly receding. This gives Biden an opportunity in the dying days of his presidency to be much bolder than he has been to date. He needs to recognise that friendship with Israel does not mean he needs to be friends with Netanyahu.
One of the best ways he can secure his legacy is by helping bring to an end this unrelenting reign of terror on the Palestinian people.
There is much the US can do alone to contain Netanyahu’s warmongering – diplomatically and militarily; but it must also bring together a coalition of Arab states who yearn for stability and want to see a long-term settlement which recognises the existence of Israel as a sovereign state, but which also sees the establishment of a Palestinian state.
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Biden might feel uncomfortable about firing a proverbial shot across Israel’s bows, but that would be a price worth paying if it brings the Israeli government to its senses and back to the negotiating table.
It would also send a strong signal to the many Israelis who oppose Netanyahu’s warmongering that they should continue to apply political pressure.
At the end of the day, it is the people of Israel who determine who speaks in their name. As we have seen in the past, there are many there who are enlightened and who want to live in peace with their neighbours. They must be encouraged.
By writing a blank cheque for Netanyahu, fuelling his war machine with weapons used to terrorise innocent people, the Biden administration undermines peacemakers within the region – including those within Israel itself
By writing a blank cheque for Netanyahu, fuelling his war machine with weapons used to terrorise innocent people, the Biden administration undermines peacemakers within the region – including those within Israel itself.
Closer to home, the Democratic campaign for the presidency can only be enhanced by removing the Gaza conflict from the mix.
Biden has nothing to lose from intervening, and the world has everything to gain. He needs to put Netanyahu on notice that the war has to stop and if it does not, there will be consequences.