2023 looks to be a sad year in Israel. Our long time ally is slipping into an ultra-conservative religious, right wing mess, led by Netanyahu who remains under criminal investigation. Israeli police and military killed 35 Palestinians during January 2023, and a Palestinian gunman retaliated by killing 7 Issraeois near a synagogue. Media labelled the Palestinian gunman, correctly, a terrorist, but treated the Palestinian deaths as routine.
Israel, not to be outdone when it comes to retaliation, destroyed the gunman's home, punishing not just the dead gunman but his family. Meanwhile, Israeli settlers on the West Bank carried out numerous attacks against the Palestinians who live there.
This situation is only going to get worse, in my opinion. You can say that the ultra-conservative government does not really reflect the majority of Israel's population, but authoritarian governments rarely do reflect the will of the majority of the people. And the goal of this government seems to be suppression of the 53 percent majority of Palestinians and Israeli Arabs who live in Israel plus the West Bank and Gaza. It is hard to see how this will end well.
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