Netanyahu government is a source of concern inside and outside Israel

Binyamin Netanyahu, the most prominent name in Israeli politics, failed to form the government after the elections held on March 21, 2021. Thus, his 12-year term as prime minister ended. In Israel, which was governed by coalition governments afterwards, Netanyahu had the opportunity to gather power as the main opposition leader.

Netanyahu, who managed to gather racist parties on the right under the same roof, succeeded in winning 64 seats in the 120-seat Knesnet (Israeli Parliament) in the elections held on November 1, 2022, which he entered as the leader of the right-wing bloc. The Likud Party, led by Netanyahu, came first with 32 seats, Yesh Atid, led by former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, came second with 24 seats, and the National Union Party led by Benny Gantz came third with 12 seats. According to the results of the polls, the Religious Zionism List, formed by Netanyahu's far-right allies Religious Zionism Party, Jewish Power and Noam, won 14 seats, Ultra-Orthodox parties; Shas won 11 seats and United Torah Judaism won 7 seats.

With the new government receiving a vote of confidence on December 24, 2022, Netanyahu became prime minister for the sixth time on December 29. Thus, he became the longest-serving prime minister in the short history of Israel, which was founded in 1948.

Netanyahu, who was previously alleged to have committed corruption during his term as prime minister, is also known as the first Israeli Prime Minister to be put on trial while in office. It is now rumored that Netanyahu wants to make a deal with the prosecution. In fact, the coalition partners want to make a legal reform that could end Netanyahu's ongoing trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

The new Israeli government is known as the most right-wing government among the governments formed in Israel so far. The leader of the Likud Party received the support of 63 out of 120 MPs in the vote of confidence in parliament. 54 MPs voted against. The new government is made up of far-right parties, including an anti-Arab racist political organization, and is described as the most right-wing government in Israel's history.

Netanyahu's cabinet, composed entirely of right-wing parties, consists of 30 ministers, 5 of whom are women. Netanyahu's party holds important ministries such as the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defense and Justice. 

Meanwhile, Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, is known for his anti-Arab stance. He has been tried and convicted of "incitement to racism" and "supporting a terrorist organization". As Minister of National Security, Ben-Gvir is feared to lead the police in Israel and the West Bank to adopt harsh force policies.

Netanyahu's coalition partners reject the internationally-backed peace formula for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which envisions an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank with Jerusalem as their shared capital. The leader of the government's Religious Zionism party advocates the annexation of the West Bank by Israel. More than 600,000 Jewish settlers live in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Normally, these settlers are in East Jerusalem and the West Bank illegally under international law, but Israel refuses to recognize this.

The other partner in the government, Avi Maoz, leader of the anti-LGBT Noam Party, is also demanding a ban on Pride in Jerusalem. He does not approve of equal opportunities for women in the army. He wants to limit immigration to Israel to Jews only.

Before forming the government, Netanyahu told the US-based news platform NPR, "I will not allow anyone to change LGBT rights or deny the rights of our Arab citizens."

Nevertheless, Netanyahu needs the far right and the religious group to support him. He will inevitably have to make concessions to his coalition partners. This is seen as Netanyahu's biggest dilemma as prime minister. He is likely to be a weak prime minister. Therefore, Netanyahu's capacity to solve the problems he will face domestically and internationally seems to be quite limited. He may not be able to complete his 4-year term successfully. 

Some countries are reluctant to make a decision before seeing the new government in action, but the very name Netanyahu is a cause for concern. The new Prime Minister reacted to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly's decision to request an "advisory opinion" from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories. In the dust of his feet, he challenged the international system. 

On November 11, 2022, in the UN General Assembly Special Political and Decolonization Committee, 87 member states voted in favor, 26 countries, including Israel and the United States, voted against, and 53 countries abstained in the General Assembly vote on the draft resolution requesting the International Court of Justice to give an opinion on the legal consequences of the denial of the Palestinian right to self-determination as a result of Israel's activities since the 1967 war.

The Netanyahu government, which has caused uneasiness in its foreign policy, is expected to strain relations at home. Israel's Attorney General and opposition parties claim that the new government is threatening democracy in the country with the steps it has promised to take. These include a mandate giving lawmakers the right to overrule Supreme Court rulings. 

As a result, Israel's sixth prime minister has formed the 37th government. It is a coalition government. It is not a government in which only Netanyahu and his Likud party have a say. Therefore, a difficult period awaits Israel at home and abroad. It is doubtful that the government will survive for four years. 

It is likely that Netenyahu wants to "terrorize" the entire Palestinian people in a sense to overturn the table. From this point of view, he will do everything in his power to deny the Palestinians the right to live again under the pretext of fighting terrorism. A Netanyahu government that will act to marginalize Muslims and Palestinians and present them as "terrorists" to Western society in order to remove the "two-state solution" option from the agenda will ultimately find Turkey against it. The 'soft underbelly' of Turkey's relations with Israel is the Palestinian issue. Relations between the two countries had deteriorated mainly because of the Palestinian issue. Thanks to the efforts of President Herzog, Turkey-Israel relations were restored. I hope it will not deteriorate again under the new government.