Egypt's President al-Sisi appeals to Netanyahu to "avoid a tense situation", while the UN calls on the International Court of Justice to rule on the "legal status" of the occupied Palestinian territories

Regional fears grow over Netanyahu government's stance on the Palestinian cause

photo_camera PHOTO/FILE - Esplanade of the Mosques

The arrival of the new Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the Likud party, in coalition with ultra-Orthodox, supremacist and homophobic political formations - such as Shas, Judaism United for the Torah, Religious Zionism, Jewish Power or Noam - has led to growing concerns that the country now faces a setback in the human rights gains of women (the new government will not adhere to the 2011 Istanbul Convention against gender-based violence), members of the LGTBIQ community or religious minorities. 

At the regional level, these concerns have also been transferred to the situation of the Palestinian cause. Important figures in the new government, including Jewish supremacist and anti-Arab Itamar Ben Gvir (of Jewish Power), the new Minister of National Security with powers over the police both in Israel and in the occupied territories; or the settler advocate of the annexation of the West Bank territories, Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionism), finance minister during the first half of the legislature, all advocate positions against Israeli-Palestinian coexistence and the redressing of past abuses by Jewish settlers. 

This scenario has prompted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to call on the new Israeli prime minister to "avoid any steps that could lead to a tense situation that complicates the regional scene" during a phone call in which the Cairo-based leader congratulated Netanyahu on his return to office. 

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Egypt (one of the first Arab countries to normalise diplomatic relations with Israel after the signing of the 1979 peace accords) has played a significant role in mediating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, due in part to its promotion of dialogue between Tel Aviv and the Palestinian military group Hamas. According to the Egyptian presidency office, Al-Sisi has also expressed his willingness to continue efforts "to maintain calm" between Israel and Palestine. 

"Egypt will continue its intensive moves on all issues related to the Palestinian cause, mainly efforts to maintain calm between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, and to resume negotiations between the two sides," he added. 

As of today, most of the international community considers the settlements built by Israeli settlers in Palestinian territories to be illegal, and an obstacle to any peace negotiations. Thus, in the face of controversial coalition agreements (which, on this issue, include points such as the annexation of the occupied West Bank and the banning of the Palestinian flag), the international scene - and especially countries in the region - fear that the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank will lead to increased tensions and clashes between Palestinians and Israel. 

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'Israeli practices and settlement activities affecting the rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs in the occupied territories'

For its part, in the face of the fears that the new government seems to arouse, the United Nations General Assembly requested on 31 December that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) urgently rule (in an advisory opinion) on "the prolonged occupation and annexation of Palestinian territory" by Israel. The international body approved the request in a resolution - which passed with 87 votes in favour to 26 against and 53 abstentions - that included the document 'Israeli practices and settlement activities affecting the rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs in the occupied territories'. 

"Recourse to public institutions is a right," said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, through his spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeiné, who welcomed the UN resolution. "And the only way to achieve peace in Palestine, and in the entire region, is to achieve decisions based on international law," he said. 

"As with the hundreds of distorted UN General Assembly resolutions against Israel over the years, today's shameful resolution does not commit the Government of Israel," the Israeli position was stated in a statement by Prime Minister Netanyahu, who rejected the UN resolution. "This decision lends support to terrorist organisations and the anti-Semitic BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement, in contravention of the principles agreed by the UN itself," said Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, "and will not prevent us from continuing to fight terrorism, protect the citizens of Israel and promote the interests of the State of Israel".

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International reactions 

Meanwhile, in the hours following the official appointment of the new government on 29 December, international reactions were swift. One of the first to express its support for Netanyahu's government was its main Western partner: the United States, one of the voters against the UN resolution. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday congratulated the new prime minister on achieving a coalition government and urged him to continue working on "joint values".

"We will judge our Israeli partners on the basis of the policies they pursue, not the personalities who happen to be in it," said the US official, who said he expected "equitable measures of security, opportunity, prosperity and dignity" for both Israelis and Palestinians. "Equally". 

A similar stance was expressed by European Commission President Ursula von cer Leyen via her official Twitter account. "We look forward to working to strengthen our partnership, promote peace in the Middle East and address the consequences created by Russia's war against Ukraine," she tweeted, congratulating Netanyahu. Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky, Vladimir Putin in the Moscow Kremlin (who urged Tel Aviv to promote 'constructive cooperation'), and Viktor Orbán in Hungary (who said he 'supports Israel against biased and unfair approaches on the international stage') have also joined the list of states that have praised the incoming government.

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