Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police left hundreds wounded and at least 50 people with severe injuries on May 10, Jerusalem Day. The unrest has been going on in the city and its suburbs for several days now. The situation is particularly tense because of the uncertainty surrounding the Israeli government as the country’s political forces are unable to form a cabinet, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.
Riots broke out in Jerusalem on May 7, after an Israeli court had ruled to evict several Palestinian families from the city’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and hand the land over to the descendants of the Jews who used to live there before the 1948 war.
The unrest is taking place at a unique time for Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party, which won the March parliamentary election, have failed to form a government within the legally prescribed time frame and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin transferred the right to create a new cabinet to Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party that had taken second place in the election in terms of parliamentary seats.
Researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations Lyudmila Samarskaya pointed out that given the current balance of power in the Knesset, any possible political majority situation would be unstable. Lapid can hardly be expected to form a strong coalition.
Netanyahu will remain prime minister for the duration of the talks. At the same time, he might not leave the corridors of power at all. First, chances are that Lapid won’t be able to establish a coalition and then, a new parliamentary election will take place. Second, Netanyahu may also run for president. The Knesset will elect Rivlin’s successor on June 2, when it will have become clear whether there is going to be a parliamentary majority coalition or not.
Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police left hundreds wounded and at least 50 people with severe injuries on May 10, Jerusalem Day. The unrest has been going on in the city and its suburbs for several days now. The situation is particularly tense because of the uncertainty surrounding the Israeli government as the country’s political forces are unable to form a cabinet, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.
Riots broke out in Jerusalem on May 7, after an Israeli court had ruled to evict several Palestinian families from the city’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and hand the land over to the descendants of the Jews who used to live there before the 1948 war.
The unrest is taking place at a unique time for Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party, which won the March parliamentary election, have failed to form a government within the legally prescribed time frame and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin transferred the right to create a new cabinet to Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party that had taken second place in the election in terms of parliamentary seats.
Researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations Lyudmila Samarskaya pointed out that given the current balance of power in the Knesset, any possible political majority situation would be unstable. Lapid can hardly be expected to form a strong coalition.
Netanyahu will remain prime minister for the duration of the talks. At the same time, he might not leave the corridors of power at all. First, chances are that Lapid won’t be able to establish a coalition and then, a new parliamentary election will take place. Second, Netanyahu may also run for president. The Knesset will elect Rivlin’s successor on June 2, when it will have become clear whether there is going to be a parliamentary majority coalition or not.