Settlers Emerge As Big Winners In Israeli Coalition
His party didn’t do as well as expected, coming fourth in Israel’s recent parliamentary election, but Naftali Bennett, leader of the Jewish Home party, has done his settler supporters proud, emerging as a big winner in the scramble for power in the newly formed coalition government assembled by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Coming just ahead of a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama, and contrary to what the White House may be hoping for, the hard-line nature of the new government shows how difficult it will be to make any inroads toward a Palestinian state.
At a time when the future of Israel’s settlements in the West Bank will likely be determined, Mr. Bennett, a dot-com millionaire who breathed new life into the former National Religious Party, has been given control of the portfolios and parliamentary positions that matter most to the controversial settler communities.
The party has been given the Housing and Industry ministries as well as chairmanship of the Knesset’s powerful finance committee, from which funding for settlements would come.
For Israel’s settlers, “it’s a dream come true,” says Yossi Verter, a veteran political commentator at Haaretz.
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