So I had no idea that Israel's elections were taking place yesterday/today until I read Mr. Hanberg's blog saying that he hadn't heard anything before he went to bed. Well, exit polls are showing that Sharon's centralist Kadima Party claimed the most seats in the Knesset, with Labour second and Likud fourth (third is the Yisrael Beitenu Party, which is appearently so unknown that all the info I've seen on it says that it's made up primarily of Russian Immigrants-let the Anti-Commie insane conspiracy rhetoric start now!).
This is pretty big stuff, since this is the first time in 30 years that the government won't be formed by Labour or Likud. Sharon's successor, Ehud Olmert has said that the government will redefine and solidify Israel's borders over the next four years. Not a surprise, seeing as how this election is being seen as an affirmation of Sharon's decision to pull all Israeli settlers out of the Gaza strip.
Personally, I think this could be a very good thing, depending on how the coalition comes together. During my senior year at Carleton, I took a history class called the Modern Middle East, and I remember the first time I looked at a map of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank that showed all the settlements. It was ridiculous. There were so many settlements, on the West Bank in particular, that I felt it was a brilliant piece of propaganda by Israel to convince the rest of the world that it was a piece of Palestinian territory. I thought pulling out of Gaza was a good move, and if Israel surrenders land on the West Bank over the next four years I think it will be a big step toward making the area more secure.
However, we now have a centrist party in control in Israel, and a Hamas-led government for the Palestinians. Hmmm. Things may get interesting here. And not necessarily the good kind of interesting, either.
Read more here.
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