A Referendum on the West Bank? Eh…not so much.
I’m watching the news from Israel today, checking the reports of voter turnout and eagerly awaiting the first exit polls. This election has been billed as a referendum on withdrawal, a yay or nay on whether the nation will unilaterally pull back to its 1967 borders (excepting a few squiggles into West Bank territory to incorporate the biggest settlements). But Bradley Burston argues in Haaretz that the election is no such thing:
There’s only one segment of society that seems to sense intuitively that this election is in no way the referendum it’s cracked up to be: the voters.
This is one thing they seem to know: There are lies, there are damn lies, and there are campaign pledges regarding the fate of the territories and, indeed, of the state of Israel.
Burston says this election is really just a referendum on the political futures of the current crop of party leaders. And that even if Olmert is serious about following through with withdrawal (a huge assumption), the logistics are against making it happen anytime soon.
3 Responses to “A Referendum on the West Bank? Eh…not so much.”
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Alon Levy says:
The entire state of politics in Israel is a mess, caused largely by Sharon’s schism. In a more traditional situation, where the Labor supported unilateral withdrawal and the Likud didn’t, and both parties were perceived as true to their principles, an election could be a referendum on what to do with the Territories. But right now there are two or three parties vying for the fascist vote, plus Kadima (which was originally intended as a way for Sharon to be accountable to nobody, whereas in the Likud he had to answer to the party’s activist base) and the Labor.
A lot of people are discontented and have lost faith in the political system, it seems; voter turnout is expected to be in the 60s, which by Israeli standards is extremely low.
March 28th, 2006 at 12:02 pm EST -
Violet says:
As of 6pm Israel time, voter turnout was the lowest in history.
Hey, Alon, you’re a real live Israeli! What do you think of the Kadima plan to pull back and consolidate behind the Security Fence?
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Alon Levy says:
I think the current Security Fence is a sham. It cuts through Palestinian territory in order to put all settlements, even those that are far east of the 1967 border; as such, it achieved the remarkable feat of reducing Palestinians’ freedom of movement even further.
Other things being equal, it’s better for the IDF to stay on the Israeli side of the security fence; however, things aren’t equal, since from what I’ve read, the plan involves strengthening and consolidating the security fence instead of gearing up to tear it down.
As of 8 pm, voter turnout is even lower than expected, at 57% (polls close at 10 pm nationwide).
