Ramallah: A leading international news publication has criticized the composition of the new Israeli coalition government, claiming that the government is leaning further to the right than the previous coalition.
Terming a short-lived government proposal to segregate Israeli and Palestinian bus travellers to the West Bank “a sign of the new government’s thinking,” the article in The Economist magazine claimed the new national government “could soon make Israel’s relations with the wider world pricklier than ever.”
Israeli diplomatic sources told the magazine that the nation is being increasingly marginalized in dialogues about the peace process, suggesting it is symptomatic of “their country’s diminished international standing.”
The article cites the example of the recently revived French plan to set a timeline for negotiations.
“Whereas France has discussed its UN proposal with the Americans, the Arab League and the Palestinians, Israel learnt of it only at second-hand.”
Other challenges facing the Netanyahu government include growing feelings in the European Union that future Israeli colony-building plans should be met with “retaliatory measures” such as mandatory labelling of products made in colonies and limitations on European contributions to joint research projects.
