Thread by @AliVelshi

With all that’s going on in the world and here in the U.S., it’s easy to forget that Israel is coming apart at the seams. (1/30)

Since the end of last year, Israel’s internal politics has been upended, an indicted Prime Minister was returned to office and, in a situation echoing American politics, is trying to use his power and influence to remain in power to avoid prosecution for fraud, breach of… (2/30)

…trust and accepting bribes. He’s even changing Israeli laws for reasons that appear to be entirely self-serving. (3/30)

Central to what is looking like the collapse of Israel’s ostensibly democratic system – I say ostensible because millions of people – Palestinians who live under illegal occupation – are subject to Israeli persecution and prosecution without either it’s protections or... (4/30)

...the right to vote – is that the once-fringe, anti-democratic, ideological and religious movement secured a stunning victory in parliamentary elections. (5/30)

The former so-called “government of national unity” had included political parties from the right and the left *and* had the support of the tiny majority of Israeli Arabs in the Knesset. But it lost in the last elections. (6/30)

It wasn’t a big loss but in Israel’s incredibly fragmented political system, it was enough to replace the fragile coalition government with a far-right populist government which now holds some of the country’s most influential positions. (7/30)

And with that, the thrice-indicted Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power. In a repeat of a sentence I have uttered several times over the years, Netanyahu’s cabinet is the most right-wing and extreme in Israeli history. (8/30)

It is so far right that it makes the Netanyahu of years gone by look moderate, by comparison. One minister has boasted that he could take active measures against the LGBTQ-community without any repercussions from his base. (9/30)

But don’t worry, he has a limit. He said, quote, “I won’t stone the gays.” Another minister has advocated for expelling disloyal citizens of Israel. (10/30)

So, this is the kind of leadership Israel is dealing with right now. And Benjamin Netanyahu is – once again – at the helm of it. His return has brought with it an outright assault on what many Israelis believe to be their democracy. (11/30)

Even though Israel is, as I have started before, an Apartheid state, not a real democracy, because only some people who live under its control enjoy its protections, and the delineation is whether you are Palestinian or not. (12/30)

However, many Israelis citizens either live under the illusion of – or legitimately hope for – democracy, and Netanyahu has undermined that with a judicial overhaul which essentially gives politicians – those extreme, far-right politicians in his government - full… (13/30)

… control over supreme court appointments. It also allows parliament to override judicial decisions – subverting one of the sole checks on the government’s authority. (14/30)

The question is what *Netanyahu*, and his ultra-nationalist government, plan to do with their newly unfettered power. Safe to assume they’ll use it to target the already vulnerable Palestinian population. (15/30)

Some Middle East experts say the government could use the new laws to expand illegal Israeli settlements, or even go as far as annexing the West Bank – totally controlling it without offering its residents a vote. (16/30)

At least that would prove the argument that Israel is, actually, an Apartheid state. (17/30)

This summer, Netanyahu approved plans to expedite construction of thousands of new settlements in the Occupied territories. (18/30)

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are deemed illegal under international law, a finding notably ignored by both Israel and its greatest military and financial supporter, the United States. (19/30)

Brutal settler attacks on Palestinian villagers have increased, and the additional Israeli military forces sent into the West Bank by Netanyahu are known to turn a blind eye, and sometimes even join in, on the deadly wave of violence that has now lasted for more than… (20/30)

...a year, and that has reached levels not seen in two decades. So, Israel has two problems – an allegedly corrupt Prime Minister pursuing political means to avoid prosecution and hang onto power, and a rapidly deteriorating situation with the Palestinians. (21/30)

So, when President Biden invited Netanyahu to the U.S. last month, it raised some eyebrows. At the time, the White House did not specify when or where the meeting would take place. (22/30)

Last week, Axios reported that three current and former U.S. officials said Netanyahu could be invited to the White House this month. This prompted several prominent Israelis to publicly implore Biden *not* to do that. (23/30)

Former Israeli security officials, politicians and advisers, ambassadors, entrepreneurs, activists and great thinkers have all urged Biden *not* to meet with Netanyahu until he stops. (24/30)

Ami Dror, an Israeli tech entrepreneur and leader of the protest movement said this to President Biden, “I urge you not to meet him, not before he stops the attacks on Israeli democracy... (25/30)

The democratic world is fighting three frontiers: The war that Mr. Trump declared on American democracy, The war that President Putin and his partners declared on Ukraine, and the war PM Nethanyahu and his racist partners declared on Israeli Democracy... (26/30)

...We, the democracies of the world, must stay united, and President Putin, PM Nethanyhu, and Mr. Trump should be persona non grata until they stop their attacks.” (27/30)

It says a lot when Israelis are begging Joe Biden not to use the office of the U.S. Presidency to elevate their own Prime Minister, because they fear that doing so would only further encourage Netanyahu’s dangerous behavior. (28/30)

This is a very delicate situation for the United States to be in. The U.S. and Israel are allies; America often calls itself Israel’s best friend, and U.S. taxpayer funding of Israel makes that claim largely true. But the U.S. should not be rewarding bad behavior. (29/30)

And a photo-op is just that. (30/30)