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The Sunday Review
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When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his Decision to delay a controversial plan to weaken the country’s judiciary on Monday, he Invoking the Biblical story of The Judgement of Solomon where the King had to decide between two women who claimed to have given birth to a child, the king was forced to do so. Solomon had the child cut in two and protested by the woman, who was determined to be his real mother.
Prior to Netanyahu speaking, the supporters the judicial overhaul After right-wing politicians called for their participation, people gathered on the streets. make his address as protesters Both sides rallied for the first-ever time in several weeks.
“Even today, both sides in the national dispute claim love for the baby – love for our country,” said Netanyahu. “I am aware of the enormous tension that is building up between the two camps, between the two parts of the people, and I am attentive to the desire of many citizens to relieve this tension.”
The timing of the address was likely intentional and was meant to give Netanyahu’s much-delayed speech a favorable backdrop – two competing camps demonstrating their love for the country, said Aviv Bushinsky, a former media adviser for Netanyahu who served the prime minister for nine years.
Netanyahu’s strategy has always been based on Bushinsky stated that last-minute decisions can sometimes be difficult to predict. his next move.
Other analysts say the prime minister’s strategy brings uncertainty to Israel’s future.
“He is playing the game,” Gideon Rahat (a professor of political science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem) said that. “You can never know what will happen, and that’s the problem … There is no certainty in Israel, in the Israeli system, and I am not sure that he’s not happy about this.”
Bushinsky said that Netanyahu would have the final say he I would have put the brake pedal in. on the judicial overhaul a long time ago, as it wasn’t one of the main leadership goals declared at the start of his Sixth term as Prime Minister.
He’s standing by it because the survival This is his alliance depends on it. Analysts disagree. he’s backed into a corner between appeasing protesters Keeping and maintaining his Government intact.
Before Netanyahu announced the delay, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s Jewish Power party broke the news, noting that part of the delay agreement was to establish a National Guard. Some speculated that this caused alarm. on Ben Gvir was granted permission to start social media. his Your own militia
Diana Buttu, a Palestinian-Canadian lawyer and a former spokesperson for the Palestine Liberation Organization, told The Sunday Review’s Becky Anderson on Tuesday: Ben Gvir will be in charge of the National Guard. “the equivalent of putting the fox in charge of the henhouse.”
Ben Gvir responded quickly to the concern about the new body. “Let’s put things straight: no private army and no militias,” he In a published statement on his Telegram page.
Bushinsky dismissed the importance of the National Guard and said it was irrelevant “a comfort prize” for Ben Gvir – “a prize for the losers.”
Analysts believe that the prime minister now has very limited options. The prime minister has few choices, analysts say. he Sides with his Votes and coalition on Strikes, protests and other crippling actions would continue after the overhaul. If he Brakes are applied. his A collapse of the coalition is possible.
The only wiggle room the Israeli leader has, analysts say, is if negotiators reach a moderated judicial overhaul plan bill over the Knesset’s recess period, which ends April 30, and where concessions to his Right-wing members of a coalition need not be extreme.
Netanyahu may We also hope that the reform bill will be rescinded.
“I think Netanyahu will try to run away from this thing, hoping that things will gradually ease,” Bushinsky noted that all the ministers who threatened to quit if the bill was not passed have remained at their respective posts.
Analysts disagree. what könnte die fragmented nation wieder unify and the public rallies behind the government potential security threatYou can get it from neighbouring countries, or in conflict with the Palestinians.
A security crisis would reorient the government’s attention, said Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute in Jerusalem, whether it arises from conflict with the PalestiniansThe Iran-backed Hezbollah Lebanon, Lebanon or other.
“Some thought that if there was a security crisis, then Netanyahu would be saved by the bell,” Bushinsky.
Palestinians are watching the process with unease amid fears that they will pay the price of Netanyahu’s concessions to right-wing coalition members with a history of anti-Palestinian rhetoric.
“We are seeing that Palestinians are once again paying the price for Israel’s electoral choices,” said Buttu. “There may be calm in the streets of Tel Aviv … but for Palestinians, the reality remains the same.”
It is unclear how Netanyahu will behave, and many aren’t optimistic about the recess period yielding any type of moderation or consensus. his position.
“I have not detected any indication that tells me that the prime minister is actually entering into the negotiations with a keen interest in achieving consensus … including comprises on core aspects of the judicial overhaul,” Plesner.
Plesner points out, however that Netanyahu is and his Likud party was formed “politically injured” Over the course of these last months, Israel has been losing legitimacy and support not only in the eyes Israelis, but also the eyes in general. his Own Likud voters
“(It was) a dramatic erosion of their political power and political posture,” he said.
Biden and Netanyahu make a trade of barbs on a plan for weakening courts. Israel rejects the US ‘pressure’
Israel’s embattled prime minister escalated a rare public dispute with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday, rejecting “pressure” from the White House after Biden criticized Netanyahu’s efforts to weaken Israel’s judiciary. Biden said on Tuesday he won’t invite Netanyahu to the White House “in the near term,” and issued an unusually stinging rebuke of the Israeli leader’s proposed judicial overhaul. Netanyahu responded late on Tuesday, saying, “Israel is a sovereign country which makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends.”
- Background: Finally, the prime minister paused legislation on After a strike general and massive protests that threw Israel into chaos on Monday, he he It was planned that the team would return to the task in the next législative term. Critics believe Netanyahu is pushing for the changes to be passed because his Currently in a corruption trial. he denies.
- What is the point? This back-and-forth revealed a diplomatic conflict that had been simmering for several weeks, but was made public by Biden and other US officials. Biden, along with other US officials, had tried to quieten Netanyahu’s progress. his With no rift, the reforms were proposed. The divide between these two men is now apparent, even though they have been friends for many decades.
Riyadh has joined Shanghai Cooperation Organization to strengthen ties with Beijing
Saudi Arabia’s cabinet approved on Wednesday’s decision by Riyadh to join Shanghai Cooperation Organization was reported by Reuters. This is a sign that Riyadh seeks to build a long-term relationship with China despite US security fears. Saudi Arabia approved the memorandum on The kingdom was granted the status as a dialogue partner in the SCO by the state news agency SPA.
- BackgroundThe SCO was established in 2001 by Russia and China, along with former Soviet countries in Central Asia. It has since been extended to include India, Pakistan and other nations to counter Western influence. The SCO is a security and political union that includes many countries from Eurasia. Last year, Iran signed papers for full membership. A joint conference will be held by countries belonging to the organisation. “counter-terrorism exercise” in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region in August.
- What is the point? Riyadh’s growing ties with Beijing have raised security concerns in Washington, its traditional ally. Washington insists that China’s attempts to influence the rest of the world won’t change the US’s policy towards the Middle East. Saudi Arabia and Gulf states expressed concerns about what They view the United States withdrawal from the area as the United States withdrawing its security guarantor. Washington insists that it will remain an active regional partner.
US sanctions Syrian leader Assad’s cousins, others over drug trade
The US on Two cousins of President Bashar al Assad were among the new sanctions imposed Tuesday on six individuals. The Treasury estimated that captagon trade is worth nearly a billion dollars. These sanctions are a result of the involvement of Lebanese drug smugglers and the dominance by the Assad family in captagon traficking. This helped to fund the Syrian government.
- BackgroundRegional officials claim that the surge in captagon trade is being driven by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Syrian armed groups connected to Damascus’ government. Captagon can be smuggled through either Jordan to its south or Lebanon towards the west. Assad’s government denies involvement in drug-making and smuggling and says it is stepping up its campaign to curb the lucrative trade. Hezbollah refutes the allegations.
- What is the point?: There is a thriving market for captagon in the Gulf, and United Nations and Western anti-narcotics drug officials say Syria, shattered by a decade of civil war, has become the region’s main production site for a multibillion-dollar drug trade that also exports to Europe.
Saudi Arabia’s oil giant Aramco will acquire a 10% stake in China’s Rongsheng Petrochemical in a strategic deal worth $3.6 billion that would significantly expand its presence in China.
Amena Bakr, deputy bureau chief at Energy Intelligence, spoke to The Sunday Review’s Becky Anderson about what It is a good sign for Saudi-Chinese cooperation.
As the Saudis do not like the East, she said that Saudi interest in the East is high “policy that interferes with their internal affairs,” China has a unique mantra.
You can watch the entire interview here.
Ramadan television show has been criticized for showing offensive images of Iraqi women.
This is the series. “London Class,” This video, produced by MBC group (a Saudi-backed media conglomerate), depicts Iraqi female maids working for Kuwaiti women. They are also accused of theft.
In the 1980s, this show features a group of Arab medical students studying at a London university. Kuwait is the target of much of the anger expressed by Iraqis.
But, Kuwaiti Ministry of Information said that the show was not for them. do With the country, and wasn’t shown on Any platform, as per Arabic media.
A Twitter user based in Baghdad was condemned what he It was repeated repeatedly “stream of hatred and malice from Kuwaiti shows towards our people.”
Heba Hamada, a Kuwaiti writer, wrote the show and Mohamed Bakir directed it. Hamada replied to criticisms in this Instagram post, saying: “Iraq is the mother of civilization, and all Arabs lean on its shoulder.”
Mustafa Jabbar Sanad was a member in parliament from Iraq and accused the show “erasing the value of well-known Iraqi talents … to distort the image of the Iraqi people as a whole, not just women.”
Hamada, a writer of similar shows called Hamada in 2019, was the target of critics “Cairo Class,” This caused tension between Egyptians and Kuwaitis due to its depiction of Egypt. It is currently being broadcast. on Netflix.
Kuwaiti-Iraqi relations have long had a delicate issue about the topic of honor. Saddam Hussein, a former leader of Iraqi had accused Kuwaiti officials of inflicting insults. his country’s women, citing it as a reason for his Invasion of the country, 1990.
In 2004, the ex-president of Iraq reacted to being accused in court.
“How could Saddam be tried over Kuwait that said it will reduce Iraqi women to 10-dinar prostitutes?” he Asking him, in reference to himself. “He (Hussein) defended Iraq’s honor and revived its historical rights over those dogs,” Saddam spoke of the Kuwaitis.
Iraq paid its last reparation payments for the invasion of Iraq in April, after having already made a full payment to the Gulf country. of $52.4 billion.
By Dalya Al Masri
