Who is Naftali Bennett, who can become the new Prime Minister of Israel?
Naftali Bennett has long been eyeing the chair of the Prime Minister of Israel, but if he becomes Prime Minister, it will be very special in many respects.
Naftali’s Yamina party won only a handful of seats in the last general election.
Bennett’s party is at number five with seven MPs, but in the current political situation he is in the role of kingmaker. There are three more parties with the Yamina party, which has seven MPs.
Naftali’s support is crucial to forming a government in Israel, as neither group has a majority. If a coalition government is formed, it will not be formed without Naftali.
Naftali was offered to share the post of prime minister with Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Yair Lepid. Ultimately the right-wing Naftali decided to go with the centrist Yer Lepid, while the two are far apart on an ideological level.
49-year-old Naftali was once considered a loyalist of Netanyahu. Naftali was Israel’s chief of staff from 2006 to 2008, before splitting from Netanyahu.
After leaving Netanyahu’s Likud party, Naftali moved to the right-wing religious Jewish Home Party. In the 2013 general election, Naftali was elected to the Israeli parliament.
Travel
By the year 2019, Naftali became a minister in every coalition government. In the year 2019, the new right-wing coalition of Naftali did not win a single seat. Elections were held again 11 months later, and Naftali Yamina was elected to parliament as the party’s head.
Naftali is considered even more ultra-nationalist and right-wing than Netanyahu. The Naftali advocate Israel as a Jewish nation. Along with this, he also describes the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights as part of Jewish history.
These areas have been controlled by Israel since the 1967 Middle East war. The Naftali support the settlement of Jews in the West Bank and have been quite aggressive about it.
However, they do not lay any claim on Gaza. Israel withdrew troops from here in 2005. More than 600,000 Jews live in 140 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Almost the entire international community considers these settlements illegal, while Israel denies it.
The determination of settlements between the Palestinians and Israel is the most controversial issue. The Palestinians are demanding the removal of Jews from these settlements and they want an independent country with the West Bank, Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Policies
The Naftalis reject this outright and they want Jewish settlements to be settled rapidly. Naftali feels that Netanyahu’s policy on the issue of Jewish settlement is not credible.
The Naftali slang speaks English and often appears on foreign TV networks and defends Israeli actions. In domestic TV debates, Naftali speaks eloquently and aggressively.
Once an Arab Israeli lawmaker said that Israel had no right to settle ghettos in the West Bank. Condemning this, Naftali said – since you were swinging on the tree, since then there is a Jewish state here.
Naftali rejects the demand for a state for the Palestinians adjoining Israel. The international community, on the other hand, sees the two-nation theory as a solution to the problem of Israel and the Palestinians.
America has also been advocating the two-nation theory and President Joe Biden also seems to agree with it.
Advocate of strict action
In February 2021, Naftali said in an interview, “When I am in power in any form, I will not get a centimeter of land.” Naftali advocates further strengthening Israel’s hold in the West Bank. The region of the Naftali West Bank is called Judea and Samaria in Hebrew.
Naftali talks about taking more drastic measures to deal with Palestinian extremists. He advocates the death penalty. Adolf Eichmann, convicted of the genocide of the Jews, was hanged for the last time in Israel in 1961. Since then no one has received the death penalty.
Naftali opposed the 2018 ceasefire treaty with Gaza’s administrator Hamas. He has also blamed it for the Palestinians killed in the 11-day violent clash with Hamas in May last month.
Jewish pride and nationalism are central to the politics of Naftali. They wear kippahs on their heads. Religious Jews cover their heads with this.
In 2014, Naftali posted a video on social media, imitating the New York Times and left-wing newspaper Haretz, as part of a party campaign. Both newspapers criticized Israel’s actions.
In this video, Naftali was seen constantly saying sorry, mocking the New York Times and Haretz. At the end of the video, Naftali announces that it will stop apologizing.
Naftali had a background in the military and business before entering politics. He has served in two branches of the Israeli Special Forces while in the army. After serving in the army, he founded many high-tech companies and earned a lot of money from it.
In an interview in 2014, Naftali said about his wealth, “I neither eat 17 sticks nor have a private plane. I just have the capacity to do whatever I want to do.
