Abstract

Netanyahu’s right-wing alliance won a very narrow victory in the January 24th Israel Knesset elections. The party is on the brink of announcing a coalition government with eight other parties. Mr Yossi Alpher,  an expert in Israeli strategic issues, will comment on the voting public’s dramatic shift to the political center as well as the importance of domestic social and economic issues, the peace process, and the Iranian challenge in the elections. He will examine the interesting phenomenon of Yair Lapid’s Yes Atid party with an eye to the party’s chances of surviving Israel’s rough politics in the long run. Alpher will then analyze the current state of coalition and their implications. He will assess the dramatic Obama initiative to visit Israel in late March. He will also attempt to explore the chances of restarting a serious Israel-Palestinian peace process under the next Israeli government and in view of regional and international developments.