Israel under Siege

Raffaella A. Del Sarto examines the creation of Israel's neo-revisionist consensus about security threats and regional order, which took hold of Israeli politics and society after 2000 and persists today. The failed Oslo peace process and the trauma of the Second Palestinian Intifada triggered this shift to the right. Conflicts with Hamas and Hezbollah and Iran's inflammatory rhetoric later created a feeling of being under siege. While Israel faces real security threats, Israeli politics and society have also been besieged by the politics of the neo-revisionist right. Lively political debate has been replaced by a general acceptance of the no-compromise approach to security and the Palestinians. The right, represented by Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud, has turned Israel away from the peace process and pushes maximalist territorial ambitions. But they have failed to offer a vision for an end to conflict, and there has been little debate about whether or not the hardline policies are counterproductive. Del Sarto explains this disappearance of dissent and examines the costs of Israel's policies. She concludes that Israel's feeling of being under siege has become entrenched, a two-state solution with the Palestinians is highly unlikely for the foreseeable future, and Israel's international isolation is likely to increase.