Mansour Abbas’s Islamist party, which won four seats in the pre-Pesach elections, could hand victory to Bibi or to his opponents
The Backstory
“The Left makes war,” goes an Israeli saying, “and the Right makes peace.” It’s an ironic fact that under the Likud party, the country evacuated Sinai, Gaza, and Chevron, whereas under the peaceniks of Labor (back in the day), the country fought major wars.
The saying is misleading in that the modern Left gave Israel the Oslo Accords, but it contains an element of truth. The Right’s perceived toughness gives it the political cover to pull off concessions to the Palestinians that the Left couldn’t afford.