TW: The Israelis hold their national election on Feb 10. Ben Netanyahu is the favorite to win, increasingly so since the Gaza War. Netanyahu and the right wing Likud promise "tough" measures with Iran, are very cool to actually setting up an independent Palestinian state but warm to expanding Israeli settlements on the West Bank. As I have posted previously this continues the collision course into which Israel and by association the U.S. are being driven. Netanyahu btw might be the moderate in the coalition, his potential partner Avi Lieberman is even more strident, bellicose and adamant about never leaving the West Bank.
From Chicago Tribune:
"..."I'm [Netanyahu] sorry to say we haven't gotten the job done," the former prime minister, known for his hawkish views on peace talks, said in a radio interview Thursday. "It is clear that Hamas is rearming, clearly it is hitting us, clearly it is testing us. The next government will have no choice but to finish the job and uproot ... the Iranian terror base."
...The war appears to have most benefited rightist politicians who had no part in the military campaign, while the candidates who took a leading role in guiding it, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, lag behind. The two have supported continued peace negotiations.In the wake of the fighting, security is dominating the national conversation and has redefined the election race, where Netanyahu's Likud has maintained its edge and the far-right Yisrael Beitenu party, led by legislator Avigdor Lieberman, is surging in popularity, according to the latest opinion polls.
...Lieberman advocates a tough line toward Israel's Arab citizens and has been outspoken about the threat from Iran. A resident of a settlement in the West Bank, he pulled his party out of the governing coalition a year ago when Israel restarted negotiations with the Palestinians.
...A sign of the potential for friction was a statement this week by Netanyahu that as prime minister he would allow Israeli settlements in the West Bank to grow as their population expands."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-israel-netanyahu_bdfeb01,0,7400262.story
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