I don’t think that Israel’s democratic proportional voting system helps matters either.
Fringe parties prop up shaky coalition governments in exchange for policy that turns an eye to settlement construction in the West Bank or policy that opposes Palestinian statehood.
The average Israeli is opposed to most of those policies yet Israel’s PR system basically allows the fringe parties to have control. The fringe parties become king makers so to speak.
We saw some of that in Canada as well, when PM Harper first came into power, but without a majority. The Conservatives spent a lot more recession dollars to stay in power because the Liberals and NDP would bring the House down if they never.
Israel will have to deal with their extreme fringe parties and the Palestinians will have to deal with Hamas before a lasting peace can be negotiated.
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