Israel’s election was expected to bring back Benjamin Netanyahu and give the far-right Religious Zionism party a significant boost. But Netanyahu and his far-right/religious bloc ended up winning a very clear majority, the only left-wing Zionist party and one liberal Arab party failed to make the Knesset, and Religious Zionism emerged as the second largest bloc in Netanyahu’s likely coalition.
This sharp lurch to the right will make little difference to Palestinians, for whom the so-called “moderate” Lapid-Bennett government was just as harsh and just as encouraging of settler violence as Netanyahu is likely to be. But it will make a significant difference for the United States and other governments that will have to explain their own tolerance for Israel’s increasing authoritarianism and anti-liberal orientation. I explore all of this for the Quincy Institute’s site, Responsible Statecraft.