Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures to supporters at party headquarters in Tel Aviv March 18, 2015. REUTERS/Nir EliasNIR ELIAS/Reuters
Benjamin Netanyahu is both the current and probable next prime minister of Israel, after a strenuously fought election. His party surprised pollsters by winning the most seats in a divided Knesset, but victory was achieved at a heavy cost for his country's future.
Mr. Netanyahu's outright dismissal of the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may have played well with a core of loyal supporters. But what he promised voters is a fantasy. It is not sustainable. Yes, the Palestinian Authority has often been an unreliable negotiating partner, while Hamas, which rules Gaza, isn't interested in negotiating at all. And the Prime Minister's stance helped him at the polls, consolidating his Likud party's support among West Bank settlers. But he raised expectations about Israel's ability to permanently block the creation of a Palestinian state, and that will make it harder to achieve an eventual peace. There is a two-state solution, or there is no solution at all.
The Likud Leader also spread alarm at the fact that "Arab voters are going to the polls in droves!" The implication was that the increased participation of Israeli Arab citizens is a threat to Israel. Mr. Netanyahu chose to close his election campaign with a blatantly discriminatory appeal, pitting one ethnic group against another. That, too, sets a terrible precedent.
During the election campaign, Mr. Netanyahu made a serious, though overheated contribution to the international debate on the Iranian nuclear program. But he resorted to demagoguery on the Israeli Arab vote and on the eventual need for a two-state solution. To that extent, he has played into the hands of Israel's enemies, and alienated its friends.
The price of Mr. Netanyahu's victory will be high, and it will take a long time to pay for.