Israeli right set to win elections on back of Gaza war

[DogPoundPup]

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Rightwing opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu looks set to profit from Israel's military assault on the Gaza Strip, stretching his lead in the polls for the February 10 elections.

The Likud party chairman totally opposes an Israeli withdrawal from Arab territories occupied since 1967 and is campaigning on a platform of security for Israelis.

Traditional rightwing leitmotifs such as Greater Israel or the spread of Israeli settlements are kept well in the background.

The 22-day Operation Cast Lead against Hamas Islamists may have been considered a military success for Israel but the ruling Kadima party of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has not reaped the benefits.

snip~
Netanyahu has already been elected by Israeli media.

"Netanyahu-Lieberman government," said the popular Maariv daily. "Israel closes ranks with the right," said the Yediot Ahronot.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090123/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictgazaisraelvote

[bluestateguy]

1. Whatever happened to ralling around the government during a war?

I guess that only applies when the right wing is in power.

[Ken Burch]

5. In the Gaza invasion, this government has done exactly what Bibi would've done.

I really hope the Israeli voters prove all this wrong and give their votes to the only parties representing humane, progressive peace-oriented values, Meretz-Yachad and Hadash.

All hope pretty much dies if Bibi gets in. There's no possible way that Bibi now could lead to peace later.

[GoesTo11]

2. Since Livni, Barak and Olmert are all war criminals, is Netanyahu a welcome change?

[Scurrilous]

3. Meretz on Lieberman: Kahanism making comeback

Leftist party launches election campaign, says 'at a time when the whole world is celebrating with Obama, Israel is deteriorating to Lieberman's racism'

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3659983,00.html

<snip>

"Meretz officially launched its election campaign on Wednesday under the slogan "No compromise."

Party officials admitted that the war in Gaza hurt its prospects and said they plan on reverting public discourse to economic and environmental issues, as well as to the economic crisis.

The general elections are scheduled for February 10.

During a press conference in Tel Aviv, Meretz Chairman Chaim Oron assailed Yisrael Beiteinu head Knesset Member Avigdor Lieberman, saying "we are witnessing the return of Kahanism; actually, this is worse than Kahanism because Lieberman has support."

Rabbi Meir Kahane (1932-1990) was an American-Israeli Orthodox rabbi and a Knesset member. Kahane founded two political movements: The Jewish Defense League (JDL) in the USA and Kach in Israel. The latter won a single Knesset seat in 1984, and its radical right-wing ideology, which called for the expulsion of Arabs from Israel and the Palestinian territories, was labeled racist; in 1994 the movement was outlawed completely. Kahane was assassinated in Manhattan in 1990.

Nitzan Horowitz, ranked third on Meretz's Knesset roster, added "at a time when the whole world is celebrating with (US President Barack) Obama, Israel is deteriorating to Lieberman's racism."

[Ken Burch]

4. If Likud is elected, it means the voters of Israel are voting against peace

The man has never been about anything but egging on the chauvinistic, aggressive forces in his country, the people that are against all the humane values the place was supposedly meant to be about.

If Bibi wins, the U.S. should suspend all military aid to Israel. It can't deserve such aid if it votes for a thug like him.

I write this in great sadness, because those who are representing positive values in that country are losing and I don't know if they'll ever win again. And if they don't, is there any good reason for the place to go on?

[Douglas Carpenter]

6. the latest polls do show Likud with a solid lead

it should be noted that Bibi's coaliton partners are even more extreme than he is:

However Livni's ruling Kadima party may suffer a setback in the upcoming elections, with weekend polls giving the centrist party 24-25 seats, against 29 in the current parliament.

Netanyahu's hawkish Likud party is tipped to head the next government in a right-wing coalition including the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, which has advocated the expulsion of Arab citizens.

In coalition with Jewish religious parties and Yisrael Beitenu, a Likud-led bloc would secure a majority of 62-63 seats, Friday's polls said.

No one wants to fall out with the new US president and spin doctors have tried to put a gloss on Netanyahu's past record.

The Likud chairman has said he will have no problem with Barack Obama's administration, which favours a two-state solution with security guarantees for Israel.

But Netanyahu has remained vague on the peace process saying he supports broad autonomy for the Palestinians and strengthening the West Bank economy, yet he opposes the creation of a state with real sovereign powers.


http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g1ducHrywPiOO6svu1qYFsiefACQ

[Scurrilous]

7. Haaretz probe: Unknown overseas sources paid Lieberman NIS 2.5m

<snip>

"Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman earned more than NIS 2.5 million as a salaried employee of his daughter's company from 2004-2006, Haaretz has learned. During this time, he was neither a Knesset member nor a minister.

On Sunday, police detained seven Lieberman associates, including his daughter Michal and his attorney, Yoav Many, for questioning. They are suspected of conspiring to funnel money from an as yet unknown source or sources to Lieberman.

Police suspect Lieberman of money laundering, fraud and breach of trust. Sources in the national fraud squad said Sunday that the evidence gathered against Lieberman in recent months was far more serious and substantial than anything that has been previously published.

Sunday's police action was made possible by a court decision last year to allow investigators to examine thousands of documents that Lieberman had deposited with Many. The court rejected the claim that these documents were protected by attorney-client privilege.

According to information obtained by Haaretz, between 2004 and 2007 the company headed by Michal Lieberman, M.L. 1, received NIS 11 million from anonymous sources overseas for "business consulting." During the years 2004-06, while he was not in politics, Lieberman received a salary of over NIS 2.5 million from the company.

Michal Lieberman is listed as CEO and sole shareholder of this company. However, police believe she was serving as a front for her father.

Police said that Avigdor Lieberman was likely to be questioned in the case in the coming days."

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[Scurrilous]

8. Haaretz-Dialog poll: Extreme right party overtakes Labor in elections forecast

<snip>

"Less than two weeks before the elections, Kadima has only three Knesset seats less than Likud, but the right wing bloc has grown to 65 Knesset seats while the left bloc has dwindled to 53, according to the Haaretz-Dialog poll supervised by Professor Camil Fuchs, of the Department of Statistics and Operations Research at Tel Aviv University.

The poll shows that Yisrael Beiteinu, led by Avigdor Lieberman, has overtaken Labor and now has 15 Knesset seats compared to Labor's 14. The Pensioners Party, who will be part of any coalition, are still hovering on the Knesset entry threshold with two possible Knesset seats.

Some 22 percent of those interviewed are still undecided. A considerable number of them are fluctuating between Labor and Kadima and between Kadima and Likud. Their final decision will determine the elections' outcome.

Had the elections been held today, Benjamin Netanyahu would be setting up the next government, but his controlling stake according to this poll is only a flimsy 28. (Other polls, such as the one released by Channel 2 last night, give Likud 32 Knesset seats, the minimum needed to maintain a stable government.) Netanyahu will need several parties in his coalition to make up the rest, which will pull in opposite directions.

Most polls published since the election campaign began and earlier predict an advantage of the right bloc over the left-center one, indicating that the nation seems to have decided to go right.

The Haaretz poll, conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday, shows that the public has no confidence in the police's motives vis-a-vis the investigation against Lieberman and his relatives and associates. Only a quarter of those polled believe that the police are fair in renewing the investigation two weeks ahead of the elections, while 42 percent believe the timing is politically motivated."

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