On January 22, Israelis will elect their next Prime Minister at the polls. Benjamin Netanyahu of the right-wing Likud Party is up for reelection, notably challenged by former Israeli foreign minister and chief peace negotiator Tzipi Livni.
"A week ago when my youngest son, today an officer in the Paratroopers, went down south, I sent him a text message that I had decided to fight on my turf, politics, so that he maybe won't have to fight on his turf, the battlefield," Livini said.
Netanyahu drew criticism from even his closest allies, the United States and Germany, for its recent plan to construct 3,000 new settler homes in the occupied territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Prominent politicians including U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, U.K. foreign secretary William Hague, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have spoken out against Israel's plan to develop occupied areas, which was announced just a day after the United Nations voted to recognize Palestine as a non-member observer state.
Netanyahu met with Merkel, a committed supporter of Israel, and told the German figurehead, "I want to take this opportunity to make it absolutely clear that I have no doubt whatsoever about the depth of your commitment to Israel's security and to the well-being of the Jewish state."
Merkel later noted that "There is obviously a difference of view in Europe on the issue of settlements," and that "On the question of settlements, we agreed that we do not agree."
Jordanian foreign Minister Nasser Judeh argues that "[Israel's] settlement policy is not only rejected from our side as Arabs and Palestinians, but also by the whole world."
A senior adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rdeneh, urges that the planned construction "is a red line, and there will be no [peace] solution in the presence of this project. After the decision of the U.N. General Assembly, every centimeter in Jerusalem and the West Bank is Palestinian land, and every Israeli settlement is illegal."
The Israeli Prime Minister deflected criticism surrounding its settlements, noting that "successive governments from Yatzhak Rabin on down to my predecessor, Mr. Olmert, have also said this would be incorporated in a final peace treaty."
Livini suggests, "Everything is upside down: a government that negotiates with terrorists and freezes all dialogue with those who work to prevent attacks." Elections are unpredictable beasts, but one thing is certain: January 22 may very well alter Israel's course in peace talks with Palestinian officials.
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